Why India’s new envoy to China is visiting Tibet soon after taking up the job

India’s new ambassador to China has paid his first visit to Tibet in the latest sign of thawing relations

between the two Asian neighbours.

Vikram Doraiswami – who speaks Chinese and took up the post in Beijing last month – arrived in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet

autonomous region, on Thursday, according to a statement posted on social media by the Indian embassy.

The visit was to “review arrangements made by the local government for Indian pilgrims proceeding to Mount Gang Renpoche and Lake Mapam Yun Tso”, the statement said.

It said the pilgrims – destined for the sacred mountain and lake in Tibet that are known in India as Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar – were due to arrive later this month.

Zhao Peng, vice-chairman of the Tibet autonomous region, briefed Doraiswami on the facilities and preparations for the Indian pilgrims and hosted the visiting Indian delegation for dinner on Thursday.

It was Doraiswami’s first trip outside Beijing since he took up the job in the Chinese capital in May, an appointment that came as the world’s two most populous countries make efforts to rebuild their bilateral ties.

While Indian ambassadors have previously visited Tibet, such trips were rarely seen in the decade up to 2025 because of border frictions and the Covid-19 pandemic.