India’s new ambassador to China Pradeep Kumar Rawat assumed charge on Monday. Rawat arrived in China on March 4 and underwent mandatory quarantine as per China’s COVID-19 protocols.

“HE Shri. Pradeep Kumar Rawat, Ambassador of India to the People’s Republic of China assumed charge @EOIBeijing today, the Indian Embassy here tweeted. 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.