China likely to appoint new ambassador to India after 15-month gap: Report

After a gap of over 15 months, China may appoint its new ambassador to India. According to a report by The Wire, Xu Feihong is likely to be appointed as the next Chinese envoy to India. Though no official confirmation has come in this regard, sources told The Wire that the Indian side has been notified about Xu's nomination. There is speculation that Xu might arrive as early as next month, although it is unclear how definite his arrival will occur by then.

Who is Xu Feihong?

As per the report, Xu Feihong currently works as the foreign ministry's assistant minister for financial and administrative affairs. Before that, Xu served as ambassador to Afghanistan from 2010 to 2013. 

China’s previous ambassador to India was Sun Weidong, who succeeded Luo Zhaohui and completed his term on October 26, 2022.

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Last long time gap

The last time a Chinese ambassador's posting saw a gap of over a year was in 1976. A chargé d'affaires or a first secretary (for a brief time in 1972) oversaw the embassy from the time of the border war in 1962 until the normalisation of ties in 1976. Even after Sun Weidong's departure in 2022, Charge d'affaires Ma Jia has been leading the embassy.

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Meanwhile, the Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-and-half-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks. The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Lake area.

The relations between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process in 2021 on the north and south banks of the Pangong Lake and in the Gogra area.