China’s Former Envoy to India Becomes Deputy Foreign Minister

The envoy played a crucial role in the effort to normalise Sino-Indian ties following the Doklam standoff in 2017.

Lou Zhaohui farewell reception held on Monday, 27 May. 

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@China_Amb_India) 

Lou Zhaohui, the former Chinese envoy to India, has been promoted to Deputy Foreign Minister, announced China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Wednesday, 29 May.

The envoy, who started his stint in India in 2016, played a crucial role in the attempt to normalise ties between the two countries following the Doklam standoff in 2017.

At his farewell reception on 27 May, the then-outgoing Chinese ambassador to India had mentioned that he is willing to work with the new government to strengthen Sino-India relationships.

Synergising the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with India’s development strategies and reaching “early harvests of boundary talks” are top on the agenda in the Sino-Indian relationship

Listing the priorities in bilateral ties, Luo said that the two sides should break the circle of ups and downs and stabilise relations.

“We should handle bilateral relations beyond management and actively reshape it to focus on cooperation and narrow down the differences.” 

Lou Zhaohui, Deputy Foreign Minister

The BRI was launched by President Xi when he came to power in 2013. It aims to link southeast Asia, central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.

India has been boycotting the BRI to protest the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.