As Yunnan is fast becoming one the most favourite tourist places in China, a major economic center for china to SE Asia, is it not time the UK, USA open consulates here, after all Yunnan is much more friendly (always has been) than the East Coast.
The west of China is the future, do you think the Western Governments even realize this now ?

I think the problem is that both the US and UK have Consulates one hours flights away, so it's hard to justify the cost of an extra consulate in such a close location.

The Aussies will open a consulate in Chengdu soon.

From an economic point of view the Industrial and consumer markets of Sichuan and Chongqing are much larger then Yunnan.

I think it is easy to forget that the main role of the consulates is to represent the political/economic interests of a country. The support of expatriots is secondary. That is why most, if not all, of the consulates in Kunming are from ASEAN countries who cross border trade with China through Yunnan.

Chengdu on the other hand is a major trade and economic hub for western China, as designated by PRC Government. There are also over 200 F500 companies in Chengdu.

Even if you count KFC, McD, Pizzza Hut, and Starbucks, Kunming is still under represented by F500 companies.

There's no budget for another consulate in KM, much less American Citizen Services. We gave all that taxpayer money away to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Samoa, Philippines, etc ad infinitum.

@tigertiger
Dairy Queen! How could you forget about Dairy Queen!

Shows a great lack of forward thinking of them.

And Burger King! Why is there no Burger King in Kunming???

Burger King is now a UK company, believe it or not.
DQ, how could I forget. Mae Culpa topped with choco sauce.