Hong Kong’s port facilities make the city a world-class logistics hub. However, in the face of intense global competition, it must consolidate its traditional advantages as an international shipping centre and actively embrace changes to facilitate industrial upgrading, transformation and economic development.
As a renowned international shipping hub, Hong Kong remains one of the world’s busiest and most efficient container ports despite recent declines in throughput due to competition from neighbouring regions. Last year, the port handled over 14.4 million TEUs. It services more than 300 international container liners every week, connecting nearly 500 destinations worldwide.
Under the “One Country, Two Systems” framework, Hong Kong is the world’s freest and most open economy, characterized by the free flow of capital, talent, goods and information. It is China’s only common law jurisdiction and operates as a free-trade port with an independent customs regime.
Enhancing port competitiveness is therefore crucial for Hong Kong’s economic development, which means leveraging our strengths in land, sea and air transport to promote the growth of shipping, logistics, trade, tourism and other related industries.
As part of the Greater Bay Area (GBA), Hong Kong is closely connected to the region through various land crossings to Shenzhen. Thanks to newly opened land crossings and existing ones that have been upgraded, port facilities and customs procedures have vastly improved, facilitating the “East in East out, West in West out” strategy for cross-boundary goods traffic between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Amid growing cooperation between Hong Kong and other GBA cities, the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) Dongguan Logistics Park, built with Hong Kong investment, serves as an excellent example by combining the Mainland’s advantages in terms of land resources and Hong Kong’s aviation strengths.
Under this sea-air intermodal cargo transhipment mode, export cargo from the Mainland will go through security screening, palletization and cargo acceptance at Dongguan before being transported by sea to HKIA for export by air, which helps save operating costs and processing time.
Looking ahead, I urge the HKSAR Government to continue fostering cooperation with other GBA cities to leverage each other’s strengths, thereby consolidating Hong Kong’s status as an international air cargo hub.
As Xia Baolong, Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, has noted, Hong Kong is named after a port and thrives upon it. Therefore, it is essential that our city works to enhance its land, sea and air transport infrastructure to boost economic growth.
Jeffrey Lam
jeffrey@jeffreylam.hk