Under the Basic Law,the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is exclusively in charge of its internal affairs,whilst the central government of China is responsible for its foreign affairs and defence. As a separate customs territory,Hong Kong maintains and develops relations with foreign states and regions,and plays an active role in such international organisations as World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in its own right under the name of Hong Kong,China. Hong Kong participates in 16 projects of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Richard A. Boucher is an American diplomat who was deputy secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 2009 until 2013. He took up post on November 5,2009. Prior to joining OECD,he was the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs,a position he assumed on February 21,2006. The Bureau of South Asian Affairs was expanded to include the nations of Central Asia shortly before his confirmation.
The Consulate General of the United States,Hong Kong and Macau,represents the United States in Hong Kong and Macau.
The British Consulate General Hong Kong (BCGHK),located at 1 Supreme Court Road,Admiralty,Hong Kong Island,is one of the largest British consulates general in the world and is bigger than many British embassies and high commissions. It is responsible for maintaining British ties with Hong Kong and Macau.
James Blair Cunningham is an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan.
As of May 2024,there are 70 diplomatic missions in Hong Kong,of which 62 are consulates-general and 8 are officially recognised bodies in Hong Kong. As Hong Kong has the status of a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China,some consuls-general in Hong Kong report directly to their respective foreign ministries,rather than to their Embassies in Beijing.
Michael Walter Michalak is the former career Foreign Service officer and United States Ambassador to Vietnam from 2007 to 2011. He currently serves as Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director for the US-ASEAN Business Council.
The Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong and Macao represents Canada in the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China. As Hong Kong was linked to the Commonwealth during British administration,Canada's mission was called the Canadian Commission before the transfer of sovereignty to China on July 1,1997. Since 1980,the Head of Mission in Hong Kong has also served as Consul-General to Macau.
Stephen Markley Young is an American diplomat who was the Consul General of the Consulate General of the United States in Hong Kong under the State department in the Obama administration.
There are 15 consular missions in Macau,of which three are consulates-general,two are a consular office and ten are honorary consuls.
James Peter Zumwalt is an American diplomat with expertise in trade,economy,and East Asia. On November 19,2014,he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the U.S. Ambassador to Senegal and to Guinea-Bissau. Previously,he worked as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs,covering Japan and Korea. Until December 2011,he was the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo where he also served as chargéd'affaires ad interim during the absence of an Ambassador from January to August 2009. He coordinated the U.S. Embassy's response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
A de facto embassy is an office or organisation that serves de facto as an embassy in the absence of normal or official diplomatic relations among countries,usually to represent nations which lack full diplomatic recognition,regions or dependencies of countries,or territories over which sovereignty is disputed. In some cases,diplomatic immunity and extraterritoriality may be granted.
The Embassy of the United States in Beijing is the diplomatic mission of the United States in China. It serves as the administrative office of the United States Ambassador to China. The embassy complex is in Chaoyang,Beijing.
Alistair Murray McLean is the former Chair of the Australian Government's Australia Japan Foundation,and is a former Non Resident Fellow of the Lowy Institute.
Clifford A. Hart Jr. is an American diplomat. He served as Consul General of the United States of America to Hong Kong and Macau from July 2013 to July 2016. His was also a Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks,for which President Obama accorded him the personal rank of Ambassador.
The Australian Consulate General Hong Kong represents the Commonwealth of Australia in Hong Kong,and is also accredited to Macau. As Hong Kong was linked to the Commonwealth during British administration,Australia's diplomatic presence was exercised by an Australian Commission,until 1 January 1986,when it was renamed the Australian Consulate-General. From 1946 to 1972,Australia was represented by the Australian Trade Commission.
Matthew John Matthews was an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Brunei from 2019 to 2020.
Michael Hanscom Smith is a career member of the US Senior Foreign Service who had served as Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau from July 2019 to July 2022. Smith has also served as Consul General in Shanghai (2014–2017),Director/Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs at the Department of State. He also served as Economic Section Chief at the Taipei Main Office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT),and team leader at the United States Provincial Reconstruction Team in the Iraqi Province of Muthanna.
