During the early years of the Age of Empire (1870s to mid-1880s), Sweden–Norway sought to expand its influence by increasing its consular presence in territories where major imperial powers were establishing colonial order.

Despite some successes in social and political integration, the consular service struggled with economic obstacles and ultimately failed to effectively support trade and shipping.

[1] In the late 19th century, Hong Kong was recognized by Swedish-Norwegian authorities as an important distribution center, similar to Singapore.

In Hong Kong, a group of German merchant consuls, working for the leading firms Russell & Company and Schellhass, played an important role.

However, on 22 November 1867, the salary was used to compensate Premiärlöjtnant Herman Annerstedt for a special mission to study the trade and maritime conditions of Sweden–Norway in East Asia, and the consulate general was temporarily still located in Shanghai.

[7] Subsequent appointees, such as Charles Vincent Smith, who also worked as representative of Russell & Company, and Rudolf (Peter) Buschmann, also faced challenges, reflecting a persistent disconnect between the Swedish-Norwegian interests and the local commercial environment.

However, Gude's extensive proposals were largely rejected by Norwegian authorities, who deemed the costs too high and the direct trade with East Asia too insignificant to justify such an expansion.

[9] By the early 20th century, the Swedish-Norwegian consular service continued to face challenges in effectively managing their interests in Hong Kong and the broader East Asian region.

Despite some improvements and the recognition of increasing Norwegian shipping activities, the overall impact of the consular services remained limited due to economic constraints and the prevailing political and judicial priorities over commercial interests.

[13] Brandel arrived in Hong Kong on 28 June 1954, accompanied by Vice Consul Gösta Rönnhed and Secretary Ingrid Gremmel.

In addition to representing Sweden, one of its main goals is to build and strengthen ties between the countries, both on a political, economic, and cultural level.

Additionally, they have an important role in monitoring and reporting on the political and economic developments in Hong Kong and Macau to Sweden's Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Government Offices.

Another significant task for the Consulate General is to provide consular services to Swedish citizens living in Hong Kong, as well as temporarily visiting Swedes.

[20] From 1955 to 1959, the chancery was located at Room 605, 7 Ice House Street in Central on the north shore of Hong Kong Island.

[27] From 1982 to 1984, the chancery was located in Rooms 711–712, Wing on Plaza on Salisbury Road/62 Mody Road in the Tsim Sha Tsui East area in southern Kowloon.