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.
The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973, principally by American banker and philanthropist David Rockefeller, an internationalist who sought to address the challenges posed by the growing economic and political interdependence between the U.S. and its allies in North America, Western Europe, and Japan. The leadership of the organization has since focused on returning to "our roots as a group of countries sharing common values and a commitment to the rule of law, open economies and societies, and democratic principles".
Clark T. "Sandy" Randt Jr. is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to the People's Republic of China from July 23, 2001 to January 20, 2009, making him the longest-serving U.S. Ambassador to China. Randt was formerly a partner with the law firm of Shearman & Sterling in Hong Kong, where he headed the firm's China practice.
Nicholas Platt is an American diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Pakistan, Philippines, Zambia, and as a high level diplomat in Canada, China, Hong Kong, and Japan. He is the former president of the Asia Society in New York City.
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.
Mayer Brown is a global white-shoe law firm, founded in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It has offices in 27 cities throughout the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, with its largest offices being in Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York City, Hong Kong, and London.
Kurt Michael Campbell is an American diplomat and businessman serving as the United States deputy secretary of state since 2024. He previously served as National Security Council coordinator for the Indo-Pacific from 2021 to 2024. In this capacity, Campbell had been referred to as the Biden administration's "Asia coordinator" or "Asia czar"—chief architect of Joe Biden's Asia strategy.
Richard Rahul Verma is an American diplomat, who serves as the deputy secretary of state for management and resources, a position he has held since April 5, 2023. He served as the assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs from 2009 to 2011, and as the U.S. ambassador to India from 2014 to 2017. He served as the chief legal officer and head of global public policy at Mastercard, from 2020 to 2023, and as the vice chair of the Asia Group from 2017 to 2020, where he oversaw the firm's South Asia practice. He also practiced law for many years at Steptoe & Johnson LLP in Washington DC, and served as a Senior Counselor and Lead of the India and South Asia practice at Albright Stonebridge Group.
The Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) is a Singaporean research institute and think tank which focuses on international relations, especially in ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific (APAC). The Institute conducts research, hosts events, and plans conferences that deal with pressing issues in international affairs. It is the oldest think tank in Singapore, being founded in 1961.
Scot Alan Marciel is an American diplomat and served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs until February 2016. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be the United States Ambassador to Burma on January 28, 2016.
Clifford A. Hart Jr. is an American former diplomat. He assumed his responsibilities as Consul General of the United States of America to Hong Kong and Macau beginning on July 30, 2013. As Consul General, he is responsible for the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions. His most recent appointment was as the Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks, for which President Obama accorded him the personal rank of Ambassador.
Daniel R. Russel is an American diplomat who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 2013 to 2017. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary, Russel was Special Assistant to the President and National Security Staff Senior Director for Asian Affairs. He was a major figure in the Obama administration's "pivot towards Asia" strategy.
Kin Wah Moy (born 1966) is an American diplomat and holds the diplomatic rank of career minister. He is the first Chinese-American to hold the post as director of the American Institute in Taiwan. Having served in the Department of State and several diplomatic outposts, he was the director of the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto embassy of the United States in Taiwan, from 2015 to 2018.
Kurt Walter Tong is a business consultant and former American diplomat, and the former Consul General of the United States of America to Hong Kong and Macau during the Umbrella Revolution. He joined The Asia Group LLC in July 2019 and is a Managing Partner at the firm.
Joel Szabat is a former American government official and military officer serving on the Amtrak Board of Directors since 2024. He previously served as Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Aviation and International Affairs.
Susan Nan Stevenson is an American diplomat and career member of the Senior Foreign Service who had served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research from October 2021 to June 2023. She previously served as the United States ambassador to Equatorial Guinea from 2019 to 2021.
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.
Julie Jiyoon Chung, birth name as Chung Ji-yoon, is a Korean-American diplomat who has served as the United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka since 2022. She previously served as Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the United States Department of State's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA). Her first overseas assignment was in Guangzhou, China. Chung has later served in several posts in Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Colombia and Iraq.
