On July 4, the Legislative Council passed a motion to promote cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong, and to consolidate Hong Kong’s position as an international maritime center.
The national 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) assigned Hong Kong a mission to develop eight major centers, including an international shipping center. Historically, Hong Kong has been a pivotal shipping hub in Asia. The State’s clear positioning of Hong Kong as an international shipping center underscores the need for the city’s shipping industry to fully leverage the advantages of the “one country, two systems” principle, its unique geographical location, and its mature legal and financial professional services.
Hong Kong must continue to integrate deeply into national development and the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, thereby solidifying its competitive edge in the shipping industry. Considering Hong Kong’s superior geographical location, robust institutional and legal framework, as well as its strong and credible multilateral trading system, it is unreasonable not to strive to become the world’s leading international maritime center. Hong Kong should seize the advantages and play the crucial role of being a “superconnector” and a “pivot point” for GBA enterprises to go abroad. This also spurs growth for the local trade and logistics industry as the city can fully unleash its potential under the “one country, two systems” framework.
Currently, Hong Kong faces numerous challenges in international shipping services. Unlike in the past when it was China’s primary transshipment port, shipping centers on the mainland have seen a significant rise in competitiveness. Although Hong Kong remains one of the world’s busiest container ports, having held the title of the world’s top container port for 11 consecutive years, its container throughput has declined over the past decade due to factors such as the development of other global ports, external economic conditions, and the US-China trade war. Over the past six years, Hong Kong’s annual container throughput has not recorded any increase.
According to the 2023 Lloyd’s List of the world’s top 100 ports, Hong Kong was ranked ninth, trailing Shanghai, Singapore, and Ningbo-Zhoushan. Meanwhile, in the same year’s Alphaliner rankings, Hong Kong was placed 11th, marking its first exclusion from the top 10. Despite being one of the most significant components of Hong Kong’s economy, the city’s once-dominant maritime and port industry has been in decline.
The central government places great emphasis on the development of the GBA. The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area released in 2019 emphasizes enhancing the international competitiveness of the Pearl River Delta port cluster, providing clear guidance for the development of the GBA’s shipping and port industries. The GBA is envisioned to follow a “one city, one port” development model, with Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou all evolving into world-class container ports, driving the development and integration of the GBA’s urban cluster. Additionally, with Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou evolving into world-class container ports, it also opens up the possibility of a combined port system within the GBA with optimized policies and coordinated shipping routes. Hong Kong should actively engage with Guangdong to expedite the construction of integrated ports with other parts of the GBA. This includes integrating and optimizing local policies and coordinating shipping routes to save time and costs for clients, thereby forming a highly competitive world-class port cluster. This would enhance the GBA’s sea, land, and air hubs, promote regional integration, and achieve win-win cooperation.
Despite the continuous decline in its container throughput, Hong Kong retains its existing advantages in professional services, innovation and technology, and information and capital flows, which can be further enhanced and made full use of to facilitate the industry’s transformation toward high-value-added maritime services.
Hong Kong is an international ship finance and maritime arbitration center, currently home to over 1,100 port and shipping-related companies that offer a wide range of quality maritime services, including port services, ship agency and management, shipping finance, maritime insurance, and maritime legal and arbitration services. The Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) has officially included Hong Kong as the fourth designated arbitration venue in its BIMCO Law and Arbitration Clause 2020, alongside London, New York, and Singapore. With the International Organization for Mediation due to establish its headquarters in Hong Kong soon, the city will have even better conditions to serve as an international maritime arbitration hub. With its internationalized and comprehensive professional services, in line with the central government’s macro planning and support, Hong Kong can collaborate with other GBA ports to build integrated ports and develop high-value-added maritime services.
The current global economic landscape values digitalization and sustainability. Compatibility, the city’s innovation and technology capabilities, and its role as a “superconnector” between the mainland and the rest of the world, could play a major part in developing high-value-added maritime services. By aligning with the central government’s macro policies and directions, the city is poised to develop new quality productive forces and uphold its role as an economic powerhouse with other GBA cities.
The author is a Hong Kong deputy to the National People’s Congress and a member of the Legislative Council.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
