(TibetanReview.net, Jun13’26) – India’s new ambassador to China has paid his first visit to Tibet in what is seen as the latest sign of thawing relations between the two Asian giants. The two countries became neighbours only since the 1950s following China’s armed invasion and occupation of Tibet and soon found themselves in conflict with each other, including a 1962 war.
Vikram Doraiswami – who speaks Chinese and took up the post in Beijing last month – arrived in Tibet’s capital Lhasa on Jun11, reported scmp.com Jun 12, citing a statement posted on social media by the Indian embassy.
The purpose of the visit was stated to be to “review arrangements made by the local government for Indian pilgrims proceeding to Mount Gang Renpoche and Lake Mapam Yun Tso”. Ghang Rinpoche (or Ghang Tisi) and Mapham Yutso are the Tibetan names of the sacred Mt Kailash and Lake Mansarovar located in eastern Tibet. The officially organized Indian pilgrims were stated to be due to arrive later this month.
Zhao Peng, vice-chairman of the Tibet autonomous region government, was stated to have briefed Doraiswami on the facilities and preparations for the Indian pilgrims and to have hosted the visiting Indian delegation for dinner on Jun 11.
This 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, noted the scmp.com report.
The report noted that while Indian ambassadors had previously visited Tibet, such trips were rarely seen in the decade up to 2025 because of border frictions and the Covid-19 pandemic.
As part of a broader reset away from the deadly 2020 Galwan Valley clash in a disputed stretch of the Ladakhi Himalayas – which sent the relationship into a downward spiral – China last year restored access for Indian pilgrims to Tibet after a five-year suspension.
Doraiswami’s predecessor, Pradeep Kumar Rawat, was stated to have spent eight days in Tibet in June last year, also to review reception facilities for the pilgrims.
Although Sino-India ties have been improving markedly on many fronts recently, their highly contentious border disputes and China’s support for or collision with India’s arch-enemy Pakistan on issues like terrorism, the status of Jammu and Kashmir, military cooperation and so forth continue to remain potentially explosive.