Pradeep Kumar Rawat, India's new ambassador arrives in China

India's new ambassador to China Pradeep Kumar Rawat has arrived in Beijing and is undergoing mandatory quarantine for COVID-19.

Beijing: India's new ambassador to China Pradeep Kumar Rawat has arrived in the country and is undergoing mandatory quarantine for the COVID-19, the Indian embassy here said on Friday.

"Ambassador-designate Shri Pradeep Kumar Rawat has reached China and is currently undergoing mandatory quarantine," the embassy tweeted. He is reportedly quarantining in Shanghai but officials are tight-lipped on his arrival in China. Rawat succeeds Ambassador Vikram Misri, who was appointed as the Deputy National Security Advisor.

An Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1990 batch, Rawat was previously India's ambassador to the Netherlands. Rawat's appointment comes in the midst of the lingering eastern Ladakh border standoff. He has earlier served in Hong Kong and Beijing. Rawat served as the ambassador of India to Indonesia and Timor-Leste from September 2017-December 2020. He speaks fluent Mandarin.

PTI