On November 19, 2009, Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei attended the opening ceremony of 2009 Beijing International Peacekeeping Seminar hosted by the Office of Peacekeeping Affairs of the National Defense Ministry. He pointed out that peacekeeping operations are one of the most important and effective ways of the United Nations of maintaining world peace and security. The rapidly changing situation has raised higher requirements for peacekeeping operations which face new challenges and need reform urgently. Such a reform should focus on three dimensions including concepts, capabilities and partnership and be pushed from five aspects of highlighting strategic design, strengthening coordinated planning, optimizing management, enhancing capacity building and expanding external cooperation. He stressed that China is both a permanent member of the Security Council and an important troop-contributing and donor country of UN peacekeeping operations. China is willing to make joint efforts with all parties concerned to carefully study the new situation faced by and the new characteristics of UN peacekeeping operations, move forward the operations in a more standardized and effective direction and make greater contributions to safeguarding world peace and stability.

Following the opening ceremony, He met with UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy. Both sides exchanged opinions on such issues as the reform of UN peacekeeping operations and China-UN peacekeeping cooperation.