No Chinese ambassador in India for nearly a year, longest gap since 1976
This is the longest such gap in ambassadorial postings since 1976, reflecting the current downslide in India-Chiina relations amid the standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC)
By next month, the Chinese embassy in India will have been without an envoy for a year – the longest such gap in ambassadorial postings since 1976, reflecting the current downslide in relations amid the standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The Chinese side is yet to request an agrément, or formal agreement, for posting a new ambassador in the embassy in New Delhi and there are no signs of movement on this issue, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.
The last Chinese ambassador, Sun Weidong, completed his term on October 26 last year and was appointed one of three vice foreign ministers. In recent months, President Xi Jinping has appointed new envoys to Japan and the US, but there has been no word whether the post in India will be filled anytime soon, the people said.
The development comes at a time when Xi skipped the G20 Summit hosted by India, instead sending Premier Li Qiang to represent China. It is widely believed a lack of confirmation from the Chinese side about Xi’s participation in the SCO Summit in July was a key reason for the meeting being held virtually.
“This is not a coincidence, and it is a deliberate decision that is part of a well-considered approach by China. They have appointed several ambassadors in the intervening year and the practice is to have an ambassador in residence, especially if a head of government is expected to attend two back-to-back summits hosted by India,” one of the people cited above said.
“While it may be a matter of conjecture as to why China hasn’t appointed a new ambassador, it can be fairly safe to say this is linked to the Indian side’s characterisation of bilateral relations as abnormal and tense,” the person said, pointing to the Chinese leadership’s position that ties are on the “normal track” and the border issue should be put in its “appropriate place” in overall relations.
The last time there was a gap of a year or more in the posting of a Chinese ambassador in India was in 1976. Between the border war of 1962 and the normalisation of relations in 1976, the embassy was headed by either a chargé d’affaires or a first secretary (for a brief period in 1972). Following Sun Weidong’s departure, the embassy has been headed by chargé d’affaires Ma Jia.
The ambassador’s post in India, along with those in Japan, the US and the UK, is among the most coveted postings for Chinese diplomats since the envoy is considered at par with the rank of vice foreign minister. Both Sun Weidong and his predecessor in New Delhi, Luo Zhaohui, became vice foreign ministers.
Ashok Kantha, a former ambassador to China, noted that India posted a new ambassador to Beijing, Pradeep Rawat, in March 2022 and said agréments from both sides were usually cleared speedily.
“This is a big missing link in the channels of communications at a time when relations are at their lowest ebb in five decades,” Kantha said, pointing to the normalisation of ties in 1976.
“This is messaging from the Chinese side that they are not comfortable with the present state of relations,” he said, adding this issue cannot be seen in isolation.
The LAC standoff has taken India-China ties to the lowest point since the 1962 war and both sides have deployed about 60,000 troops each in the Ladakh sector. The Indian side has made it clear that ties cannot be normalised till peace and tranquillity is restored in the border areas.