Foreign Relations of Hong Kong - Overseas Representation in Hong Kong

Overseas Representation in Hong Kong

When Hong Kong was a British colony, Commonwealth member states, unlike other countries, were represented in Hong Kong by Commissioners. However, since the 1997 handover, they have been renamed consulates. Owing to Hong Kong's economic importance, and the large number of British passport holders, the British Consulate-General is the largest of its kind in the world and larger than many embassies.

Most countries maintain consulates in Hong Kong. However, despite their name, these consulates are not subordinate to their country's embassy to the PRC in Beijing. For example, the British Consulate-General, Hong Kong and Macao is directly subordinate to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK rather than the British embassy in the Chinese capital. The Consul-General of the United States, likewise, holds ambassadorial rank, and reports to the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs in the U.S. Department of State; in contrast, the U.S. Consuls-General posted to Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenyang report to the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing who is directly subordinate to the U.S. ambassador.