According to the Jrj Financial APP, on October 23, at the meeting of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, when Hong Kong Transport and Logistics Bureau Director Lin Shixiong responded in writing to questions from members of the council, in order to further consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's position as an international shipping center, following the announcement of the "Maritime and Port Development Strategy Action Plan" in December 2023, the government will spare no effort to promote various measures announced in the "2024 Policy Address", including actively promoting the development of smart ports, constructing a green ship fuel refueling center, and developing high value-added marine transportation and specialized businesses.

Specific measures include: reforming the current "Hong Kong Maritime Port Authority" to become the "Hong Kong Maritime Port Development Authority"; actively promoting the development of smart ports; strengthening the promotion of green ship registration; constructing a green ship fuel refueling center, as well as developing high value-added marine transportation and specialized businesses, including optimizing tax relief measures related to ship leasing and shipping industry commercial leading industry, promoting maritime insurance businesses with potential or representativeness to settle in Hong Kong, and studying tax incentives related to bulk commodity trading to strengthen the local maritime ecosystem. The Transport and Logistics Bureau of Hong Kong will actively implement the above measures to enhance the competitiveness of the shipping industry.

Regarding strengthening Hong Kong's attractiveness as a transshipment hub, Lin Shixiong stated that as mentioned by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in the "2024 Policy Address", the government is studying the arrangement of exempting aircraft transshipment cargo permits, that is, exempting the provisions of applying for entry and exit permits for designated controlled goods, extending to other multimodal transport modes, including marine transportation. In addition, in response to the increasing emphasis of the international shipping industry on reducing carbon emissions, the Transport and Logistics Bureau of Hong Kong will develop Hong Kong into a green ship fuel refueling center to attract ocean-going ships using green ship fuel to call at Hong Kong and enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong's ports.

As for strengthening cooperation with the mainland, Lin Shixiong mentioned that in the past, Hong Kong container terminal operators have reached multiple cooperation agreements with different regions of the mainland with the support of the Hong Kong government. Among them, in May 2024, Hong Kong container terminal operators signed a memorandum of cooperation with Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group to enhance cooperation in ports and logistics between Hong Kong and Guangxi. In August 2024, under the cooperation of Hong Kong container terminal operators and Shenzhen Yan Tian Port Holdings, the "Chongqing-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Scheduled Freight Train" was opened, allowing export goods from Chongqing to be transported in a "sea-rail intermodal" mode through Shenzhen Yan Tian Port and Hong Kong Kwai Chung Container Terminal, bringing additional freight volume to Hong Kong.

In addition, the Hong Kong port industry is also cooperating with Shenzhen Da Chan Bay Terminal on high-value cold chain products, assisting containers to be quickly and efficiently transferred from Hong Kong to Da Chan Bay by barge, so that goods can quickly reach various cities in the Greater Bay Area. This will help strengthen the connection between Hong Kong port and other mainland ports and sources of goods.

He also mentioned that the Transport and Logistics Bureau of Hong Kong has been actively discussing with Zhuhai on how to strengthen logistics synergy between Hong Kong and Zhuhai through the efficient use of the bridge, and in conjunction with the Hong Kong Logistics Development Council, visited the local logistics development in Zhuhai in March 2023 to find collaboration opportunities. In addition to Zhuhai, the Director of Transport and Logistics Bureau also led a delegation to Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province in June 2024 to understand the logistics business opportunities between Hong Kong and Zhanjiang under the development of the Western Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

The Transport and Logistics Bureau also signed a "Gui-Gang Transport and Logistics Special Task Force Deepening Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement" with the Guangxi Transportation Department in May this year to strengthen logistics cooperation with Guangxi on cross-border land freight.