India names China specialist as new ambassador to Beijing
- Pradeep Kumar Rawat, a Mandarin speaker, takes over at a time when the prolonged border stand-off between the two sides continues to weigh on relations
- The move was seen as a positive sign by Chinese observers and hope his background will make him relatively well-disposed towards the country
Rawat, currently India’s ambassador to the Netherlands, “is expected to take up the assignment shortly,” a ministry statement said on Monday.
It came as China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi put a positive spin on the two countries’ relationship in his year-end review on Monday.
China and India have “maintained dialogue through diplomatic and military channels, and effectively managed and controlled frictions in certain border areas, under a shared commitment to improving and developing the bilateral relationship,” he said.
The new ambassador studied Mandarin as his foreign language after joining India’s foreign service in 1990 and was posted to Hong Kong and Beijing between 1992 and 1997, according to his profile on the external affairs ministry’s website.