A Non-Traditional Security Threat | The Novel Outbreak

The China Current with James Chau

Ambassador He Yafei was China's Vice Foreign Minister and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, where he worked closely with agencies including the World Health Organization. I wanted to draw out that insight as one of the country's foremost diplomats, but also as an ordinary person who alongside millions of others in China, is staying mostly at home during this outbreak. He says the world has become complacent to the emergence of new viruses, relying on advancement in science and medicine, and wrongly believing that there will be a cure for every illness. I called Ambassador He in his hometown of Zhejiang to discuss the impact that the new virus will have - on preparing for the next health emergency, to supply chains and the world economy, and the likely shape of global governance in this new decade.