E-Paper
China appoints former India envoy as vice-foreign minister
Sun, 56, was China’s India ambassador to India from 2019 until 2022, a period that saw bilateral ties plunge to their lowest in decades
Beijing: Former ambassador Sun Weidong, who until October was Beijing’s envoy to India, has been appointed a vice-foreign minister, state media reported on Tuesday, indicating that the senior Chinese diplomat will play an important role in framing China’s policies in South Asia in the years ahead.
“Sun Weidong, who had just finished his 3+ year tenure as Chinese Ambassador to India, was appointed as deputy foreign minister, according to China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security,” state-run tabloid Global Times tweeted on Tuesday evening.
Sun’s predecessor Luo Zhaohui was also promoted as vice-foreign minister after returning to China in 2019.
Sun, 56, was China’s India ambassador to India from 2019 until 2022, a period that saw bilateral ties plunge to their lowest in decades because of the ongoing border tension along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020.
He had served as counsellor at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi between 2005 and 2008.
Sun met external affairs minister S Jaishankar before returning to China in October when the Indian minister told him that the normalisation of India-China relations is in the interest of the countries and the region.
Jaishankar told Sun that the “three mutuals” - mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest – should guide Sino-India ties and “peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential”.
In his farewell remarks, published by the Chinese embassy, Sun did not make any mention about the ongoing border tension but said it is “only natural” for two countries to have differences.
“The key is how to handle the differences. We should be aware that the common interests of the two countries are greater than differences,” Sun wrote in his remarks.
Days before vacating his position, Sun also paid a three-day visit to Bhutan where he met Bhutanese leaders.
China and Bhutan do not have diplomatic ties and Beijing blames New Delhi for influencing Thimphu’s policies against Beijing.
Before New Delhi, Sun was the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan for three years.
China is yet to name Sun’s successor.
Given Sun’s experience in South Asia, he is likely to be a key diplomat for the next foreign minister after Wang Yi, who is a state councillor and the current foreign minister, vacates his position in March.
It’s also likely that Wang will not continue as the special representative (SR) for the India-China border talks given that he was promoted to the Communist Party of China (CPC) politburo, one of the top-decision making bodies in the country, during the national party congress in October.
