He Yafei

He Yafei

Former Vice-Minister, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

He Yafei was previously Vice-Minister at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council. He worked in the secretariat of the UN Headquarters, and served in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, taking on various posts representing China in Africa, Zimbabwe, the UN and the US.

Military personnel walk past a banner promoting the ASEAN summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, 11 November 2020. (Kham/Reuters)

Former Chinese Vice-Minister He Yafei: Singapore and ASEAN have important roles to play in a multipolar world

Professor He Yafei, a former vice-minister at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delivered the keynote address at the Lianhe Zaobao Singapore-China Forum on 3 December. He touched on the imperatives of a new multipolar world, highlighting that being economically close to China, but relying on the US for security protection, is not going to work for the Southeast Asian region. He also spoke about Singapore and China working together bilaterally, for instance in terms of China’s new dual circulation economy, as well in the regional and international arena. Below is the edited transcript of his speech and QnA.