Following Sun Weidong’s departure, the embassy has been headed by chargé d’affaires Ma Jia. Between the border war of 1962 and the normalisation of relations in 1976, the embassy was headed by either a chargé d’affaires or a first secretary (for a brief period in 1972). The last time there was a gap of a year or more in the posting of a Chinese ambassador in India was in 1976. “While it may be a matter of conjecture as to why China hasn’t appointed a new ambassador, it can be fairly safe to say this is linked to the Indian side’s characterisation of bilateral relations as abnormal and tense,” the person said, pointing to the Chinese leadership’s position that ties are on the “normal track” and the border issue should be put in its “appropriate place” in overall relations. They have appointed several ambassadors in the intervening year and the practice is to have an ambassador in residence, especially if a head of government is expected to attend two back-to-back summits hosted by India,” one of the people cited above said. “This is not a coincidence, and it is a deliberate decision that is part of a well-considered approach by China. It is widely believed a lack of confirmation from the Chinese side about Xi’s participation in the SCO Summit in July was a key reason for the meeting being held virtually. The development comes at a time when Xi skipped the G20 Summit hosted by India, instead sending Premier Li Qiang to represent China. In recent months, President Xi Jinping has appointed new envoys to Japan and the US, but there has been no word whether the post in India will be filled anytime soon, the people said.
The last Chinese ambassador, Sun Weidong, completed his term on October 26 last year and was appointed one of three vice foreign ministers.
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