Forty years have passed since the Chinese mainland adopted the policy of reform and opening-up. Throughout this period of progression and changes, Hong Kong has been indispensable in supporting the country's continued process of modernization, and in so doing has fostered its own prosperity. As one of Hong Kong's four traditional economic pillars, it is of no doubt that the shipping industry, too, has left its own indelible mark in this momentous era.
Hong Kong's shipping industry has been privileged by the superior geography of the region and the free-trade policy Hong Kong pursues. When the mainland adopted a reform and opening-up policy in 1978, Hong Kong's strategic geographical location secured it a vast amount of transshipment of goods to and from the mainland, and the throughput of the city's container port grew strong. From 1987 to 2004 Hong Kong cemented its position as the world's busiest container port, with over 90 percent of the cargoes coming from the mainland. Even now, withstanding a global trade shock and fierce competition from neighboring ports, Hong Kong maintains a healthy throughput of 20 million standard containers in 2017. This makes the city the fifth busiest container port in the world.
Another signature achievement of Hong Kong's shipping industry is its ship registration system. Hong Kong has been registering its ships since as early as the 1840s. In 1990, Hong Kong formed the independent Hong Kong Shipping Register. By 1997, the total tonnage of the ships registered here has reached 10 billion, up from the initial 6 billion. After its return to China in 1997, Hong Kong continued to enjoy the right to register ships under the Basic Law. By December 2017, members of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association own and control a total of 2,243 ships - accounting for over 9.6 percent of global tonnage - and by the end of June 2018, over 2,570 ships with a total tonnage of 118 million tones have been registered in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's shipping industry entering a new era
Forty years of reform and opening-up, especially the 20 years following Hong Kong's return, has brought huge growth for the mainland economy as well as Hong Kong-based port and shipping businesses. Widely recognized in the global marketplace for their scale, distribution, management, and operational performance, these companies have formed the foundation of Hong Kong's shipping sector, and are crucial to its continued success. The nation's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20)has reaffirmed Hong Kong's pivotal role in the development of China as a whole. Furthermore, it supports Hong Kong in leveraging its unique advantages and playing a greater role in national economic development and opening-up. Most importantly, the central government emphasized its support for Hong Kong to consolidate its global finance, shipping, and commercial sectors.
Speaking at the 2018 Boao Forum, President Xi Jinping pledged to redouble efforts in reforming and opening-up the country, aiming to further increase imports. Hong Kong's shipping sector is likely to see resurgence, something the container shipping sector will no doubt welcome after seeing the steady decline in its throughput in recent years. Of course, with the fast development of shipping operations in the mainland and other countries and more new ports opening for business across the world, Hong Kong's position as the foremost transit port will face bigger challenges. Hong Kong's shipping industry is in urgent need of charting a new course as the mainland enters a new era of economic development. This essentially means the city must leverage on the Belt and Road Initiative and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area project to metamorphose into a comprehensive and diverse international shipping hub, and secure its position as a high service-quality hinterland transition port.
In its 2014 Opinions on Accelerating the Development of the Modern Shipping Service Industry, the central government set forth several key tasks for the shipping sector, including expanding and modernizing the shipping industry, as well as promoting its global competitiveness. These directions run parallel to the Hong Kong government's call for expanding into high-end shipping services including ship management, shipping financial lease, maritime insurance and maritime arbitration. In this process, the Hong Kong government and the industry alike should strive to develop diverse cooperational platforms, and explore the feasibility of introducing new elements into the shipping industry such as the integration of shipping and finance, the integration of shipping and law and the integration of shipping and big data, as well as the establishment and supervision of the national maritime credit system.
As Premier Li Keqiang remarked, "the best way to commemorate the 40th anniversary of reform and opening-up is to follow through on our commitment". Heading into a new age, the Central Economic Work Conference has repeatedly emphasized the need to shift focus toward high-quality growth. Hong Kong's shipping industry should work in tandem with the broader society in line with national policies and strategies. Only through cooperation, modernization and high-quality development can the industry enjoy the dividends of the mainland's advancement in the years ahead. To this end, the Hong Kong government and shipping industry should formulate a long-term holistic development strategy to strengthen the industry's innovative capacity and competitiveness.
Sources:chinadaily
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