New Indian envoy to seize active position in bilateral issues: expert

India’s new ambassador to China, who just arrived in Beijing, is expected to expand bilateral cooperation to an allround level and improve ties that went soured after Doklam standoff, a Chinese expert said Tuesday.

Gautam Bambawale arrived in Beijing on Sunday to assume his post, India’s NDTV reported on Monday.

Bambawale’s CV released on the website of India’s Embassy in China shows that he speaks Chinese fluently and served in Hong Kong and Beijing between 1985 and 1991.

Bambawale was the Desk Officer for China in India’s Ministry of External Affairs in the 1990s. From 2007 to 2009, Bambawale worked as India’s Consul General in Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong Province, his country’s first.

Bambawale was also Joint Secretary (East Asia) in India’s Ministry of External Affairs from 2009 to 2014, when he was responsible for relations with Japan, China and South Korea, among other countries.

By sending a deft hand on Sino-Indian relations, India aims to amend bilateral ties and seize an active position in bilateral issues instead of letting China take the lead, Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of International Relations, told the Global Times.

Bambawale is expected to aim for the bigger picture and to proactively promote bilateral trade and cooperation, as well as to promote all-round political and cultural exchanges, Hu said.

Similar expectations are also seen in Indian reports. Bambawale’s arrival in Beijing comes at a time when the two countries are trying to put behind the Doklam standoff, and work on a “forward-looking” approach in their ties, NDTV reported.

However, Bambawale’s proficiency on issues related to China might put China in a passive position in bilateral negotiations as he is familiar with the work approach and strategies of China, Hu noted.

China-India ties have experienced twists and turns since the Doklam standoff in June. Though the two sides have continued their border negotiations after the standoff, moves from India, such as sending two senior officials to the disputed border area in November, were strongly opposed by China, which urged India to avoid any actions that will complicate relations.