China has more than 240 diplomatic missions abroad, including 159 embassies, 12 permanent missions and offices to international organizations, and more than 70 consulates general and consulates. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has set up special commissioners' offices in Hong Kong and Macao.

At present, China has more than 5,000 foreign diplomats from 32 ministries and commissions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Culture and the Second Department of the General Staff Department. Take the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an example. There are more than 2,500 people working abroad, more than a quarter of whom are female diplomats, including 12 female ambassadors and 8 female consuls-general.

The scale of diplomatic missions abroad varies, from more than 100 to only two or three people. The largest overseas institution is the embassy in the United States, with more than 70 diplomats and more than 230 accompanying family members. The smallest foreign institution has only one diplomat, such as the consulate in Barranquilla.