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.
Qian Qichen was a Chinese diplomat and politician. He served as Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo member from 1992 to 2002,China's Foreign Minister from April 1988 to March 1998,and as Vice Premier from March 1993 to March 2003. Since then,no other diplomat-turned-politician has attained such a lofty status in China's political hierarchy. Qian played a critical role in shaping China's foreign policy during CCP general secretary Jiang Zemin's administration,and was a key player handling the return to Chinese sovereignty of Hong Kong and Macau. He was in charge of border negotiations with the Soviet Union in the 1980s,resulting in a successful settlement of the border dispute and the thawing of the relations between China and Russia. He was also instrumental in handling China's normalization of relations with the West in the difficult period after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
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.
A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country,and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries.
A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission,it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country,usually an embassy. The term "consulate" may refer not only to the office of a consul,but also to the building occupied by the consul and the consul's staff. The consulate may share premises with the embassy itself.
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.
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.
John Herbert Holdridge was an American foreign service officer and diplomat,who was best known for having taken part in,and later recounted,Henry A. Kissinger's secret 1971 initiative to restore United States diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. He also served as U.S. Ambassador to Singapore (1975–1978) and Indonesia (1982–1986).
Bilateral relations between Mongolia and the United States formalized in 1987 with the establishment of diplomatic relations. Since then,the United States has become a key third neighbor to Mongolia,and in 2019 this relationship was upgraded to a strategic partnership. Ties focus on education,development assistance,and defense.
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.
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.
The Consulate General of United States,Guangzhou is one of seven American diplomatic and consular posts in China. It is one of America's earliest diplomatic posts in the Far East. The consulate serves the South China region,covering the provinces of Guangdong,Hainan and Fujian,and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,an area which,according to the latest census in 2020,has a resident population of over 220 million. The consulate general is also the only U.S. mission in mainland China to process American adoptions and immigrant visas,making it one of the U.S. Department of State’s busiest consular-related posts.
The Embassy of the United Kingdom in Beijing is the chief diplomatic mission of the United Kingdom in the People's Republic of China. It is one of Britain's largest overseas embassies. It is located at 11 Guanghua Road,in the Chaoyang District. The current British Ambassador to China is Caroline Wilson.
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.
Christopher Terence Wood is a retired British diplomat who served latterly as the British Consul General to Shanghai (2019-2023). His previous assignments included Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to China (2016-19),Representative,British Office Taipei from 2013 to 2016,Minister,British Embassy Beijing (2008–2012),Director for the Americas,Foreign and Commonwealth Office (2007–2008) and the British Consul-General to Guangzhou (2003–2006).
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.
Krzysztof Artur Ciebień is a Polish diplomat,ambassador to North Korea (2014–2019).
