India’s new envoy to China arrives in Shanghai

India’s new envoy Vikram Doraiswami arrived in Shanghai to assume his role as ambassador to China, amid efforts to normalise ties following the Ladakh standoff and revive bilateral engagement across sectors

Beijing/Shanghai: India’s new Ambassador to China, Vikram Doraiswami arrived in Shanghai on Saturday to take up his posting amid expectations that his appointment will add momentum to the current normalisation process of Sino-India relations. He was received at the airport by the Indian Consul General in Shanghai, Pratik Mathur and other officials.

Doraiswami, a 1992-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is due to arrive in Beijing on Sunday.
In Beijing, the 56-year-old diplomat succeeds Pradeep Kumar Rawat.

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Before his posting to Beijing, Doraiswami served as India’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
His appointment in March this year evoked considerable interest in the Chinese official media and the Chinese strategic community.

Welcoming Doraiswami’s appointment, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a media briefing on March 20 that the new Indian envoy has chosen a Chinese name for himself: Wei Jiameng.
“China welcomes India’s new ambassador to China Wei Jiameng, and stands ready to provide every convenience for him to take up his post in China,” Lin said.

According to Chinese scholars, the loose translation of the name in Mandarin is Wei, a common Chinese surname that phonetically matches “Vi” in Vikram. Long ago, Wei was a powerful state during the Warring States period in Chinese history. Jia means auspicious or praiseworthy, and Meng means alliance, broadly meaning an auspicious or praiseworthy ally, according to Chinese scholars.

All put together, it can mean “one who forms an excellent alliance”, which carries diplomatic significance in the present context of India-China relations, one Chinese scholar said. Â Lin said China hopes that after assuming his duties, Doraiswami will make positive contributions to the sustained improvement and development of China-India ties. Doraiswami, a Mandarin speaker, had served at both the Hong Kong and Beijing diplomatic missions early in his career.

He was posted as Third Secretary in Hong Kong, where he earned an elective diploma in Chinese from the New Asia Yale-in-Asia Language School before moving to Beijing in September 1996 for a four-year tenure.

Doraiswami’s appointment comes amid efforts by India and China to rebuild relations that came under severe strain following the military standoff in eastern Ladakh in April 2020, which stretched on for four years. The two countries are currently in the process of normalising relations on all fronts, including the resumption of visas and direct flight services.