Hong Kong links up with 3 key ‘partner’ ports to ride out trade volatility Hong Kong has established new “partner port” relationships with key maritime centres in mainland China and South America, the city’s leader has said, with shipping experts calling it a strategic move to enlarge market catchment areas and strengthen supply chains amid global trade volatility. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced on Monday that partnerships had been formed with Guangxi and Dalian ports on the mainland and Port San Antonio in Chile. “These ports are of strategic importance, and true to our character and policy priorities,” Lee said at the 15th Asian Logistics, Maritime and Aviation Conference at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. “As an international maritime centre, we connect the Chinese mainland with the world and seek partners who support an open, international trade order.” The new partnerships were a “timely response” to rising geopolitical tensions and volatility in global trade policies. These issues presented “considerable challenges for our maritime, aviation and logistics industries, from route planning and shipping fleet deployment to inventory and warehouse management”, he said. Lee said that geopolitical risks could be overcome by market diversification, while increased costs could be “offset, at least partially, by technology-enabled efficiencies”. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po echoed the sentiment on Monday at a separate conference, the Hong Kong Global Maritime Trade Summit. “Global maritime trade is no doubt facing headwinds – geopolitical tensions, tariff escalations and new trade barriers are reshaping shipping routes and disrupting established patterns,” Chan said. But “geopolitics will reshape rather than weaken maritime trade flows”, he said, noting that intra-Asia container volumes were “outpacing the global average”. The agreements on partner ports are part of a wider government effort to deepen connections with both traditional and emerging markets, with a particular focus on exploring new opportunities in countries under the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s plan to grow global trade. Willy Lin, chairman of the Hong Kong Shippers’ Council, said the partnerships were “very strategically location-specific”, and a necessary response to competition in cargo sources. He said the deals leveraged sea-rail links to “extend” Hong Kong’s market reach, effectively “enlarging our entrapment area” by partnering with the ports. He added the Dalian partnership was to secure “priority” access to “green fuel”, while the San Antonio deal aimed to “ensure” the city’s “cold chain supply” of cherries. Beyond physical ports, Lee also announced at the conference a major digital cooperation initiative with the launch of a Port Community System in January. He said the system would harness “the power of AI, blockchain, cloud computing and other cutting-edge technologies”. The digital platform aimed to “enable real-time cargo tracking and facilitate data exchange across transport modes, boosting trade and capital flows digitally”, he said Lee pointed to new opportunities from this, “from trade financing to more efficient customs declaration”. Lee also flagged the low-altitude economy as “another promising growth area” for technological collaboration. “Building on our initial regulatory sandbox pilot projects, we will introduce an advanced regulatory sandbox for complex scenarios, aimed at expanding the low altitude economy,” he said. “This will facilitate its application in logistics and other innovative business sectors.” Lee also pointed to Hong Kong’s commitment to becoming “a green maritime fuel bunkering hub”, noting it had been a year since the city’s action plan was published. He said Hong Kong was “emerging as a major port offering regular commercial bunkering services for multiple types of fuel”. “We are looking to build the necessary infrastructure for Hong Kong to become a global centre of trade for green maritime fuel, especially those produced in the Chinese mainland, by far the world’s biggest supplier.” It provided a “clear pathway to ESG compliance” and would “help strengthen the competitiveness of our logistics industry players, particularly SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises]”, Lee said. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3333149/hong-kong-links-3-key-partner-ports-ride-out-trade-volatility (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post