NEW DELHI: The Chinese government has recognized a commander of the People’s Liberation Army, Qi Fabao, for his exceptional contributions as a member of the national advisory body. Fabao sustained a head injury during the Galwan clash with India in 2020.
As reported by the daily of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Fabao was one of 33 individuals awarded the 2024 Outstanding Performance Award for CPPCC Members at a ceremony in Beijing held on Sunday.
In 2022, Fabao served as a torchbearer for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Torch Relay, an event that led Indian diplomats to boycott the opening and closing ceremonies. Four Chinese soldiers who perished in the 2020 border clash were posthumously honored with prestigious titles and first-class merit citations.
In 2021, Qi was recognized by the Central Military Commission with the title of "Hero Regimental Commander for Defending the Border" and received the July 1 Medal from the Communist Party of China Central Committee.
Twenty Indian soldiers, led by Colonel B Santosh Babu, lost their lives while combating a numerically superior force of Chinese troops equipped with nail-studded rods and other sharp weapons during the clash. However, China has not disclosed the true number of its casualties but later acknowledged the loss of a battalion commanding officer and four others.
According to a report from Global Times, Qi is the regimental commander from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Xinjiang military command.
India-China relations remained strained for over four years following the deadly Himalayan clash and the standoff in Eastern Ladakh. Nonetheless, ties were revitalized after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia, last October during the BRICS summit. This was succeeded by a series of diplomatic interactions, including discussions between special representatives on the boundary issue, NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as well as foreign secretary-level talks.
