The central government appointed He Yafei, a professional diplomat, as vice-director of the State Council's Overseas Chinese Affairs Office yesterday in a move that appears to put him in line to replace office director Li Haifeng.
He, 57, has been in the diplomatic service since the 1980s and was chief of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' department of North American and Oceanian affairs from 2002 to 2006.
He served as a vice foreign minister from 2008 to 2010 before being appointed ambassador to China's diplomatic missions based in Geneva.
If he does succeed Li at the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, a government agency that oversees liaison with and services to overseas Chinese communities, it would represent the appointment of an official with an extensive international background after an absence of nine years.
Li, 63, served as head of the Communist Youth League in Daqing, northeastern China, before being promoted to the league's central office in Beijing.
She assumed her current position in May 2007 after serving as vice- governor of Hebei province.
