By Jennifer Chang.    Photo：Kelly

Hong Kong, which used to be the number one container port in the world, facing a steady decline in port container valume in recent years, and has dropped to the ninth in the world. The COVID-19 has successfully brought about the popularity of online shopping and logistics opportunities. Kwai Tsing Container Terminal, which mainly handles large containers for import and export, saw its throughput drop by 11.7% last year, the largest drop since the financial tsunami. Hong Kong port is located at the center of the Far East trade route and in the center of the rapidly developing Asia-Pacific region. It is one of the important hub ports in the region. As the port of Hong Kong is located at the southern gate of China, a large number of freights in  and out of  South China by land and river every day. However, the container throughput of Hong Kong port fell by 6.9% to 16.57 million standard container units (TEUs) last year, which was only 72% of that of 10 years ago. Among them, Kwai Tsing Container Terminal, which mainly handles large container containers for import and export, suffered a heavy decline. In 2021, it will drop sharply by 11.7%, only 12.87 million TEUs.

The glory of Hong Kong port is inseparable from the vigorous development of the processing and export industry in the Pearl River Delta in the 1990s. The low-priced goods in the Pearl River Delta were transshipped to the world through Hong Kong, thus forming Hong Kong as a transit point. However, after 2005, the ports in  China have been catching up, and the ports in Hong Kong have taken a sharp turn for the worse. Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai and other city ports already have cost advantages, coupled with the gradual improvement of infrastructure, and a strong momentum of development; however, Hong Kong is only obsessed with playing the role of the mainland's foreign trade transfer station, and has no awareness of danger in times of peace. In 2013, the throughput of Shenzhen port surpassed that of Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Qingdao also  ahead of Hong Kong in 2018 and 2019 respectively, and Shanghai has been  first for many years. The development of both river and land domains of the Kwai Tsing Container Terminal in Hong Kong is obviously backward, which even limits the modernization and upgrading of the terminal. With the increasing size of container ships, it will be difficult for terminals to adapt to the future shipping industry market.

When the shipping and logistics industry is surging in the world, Hong Kong, as a port city, should ride a wave, but what is the reality? According to the data of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in the past ten years, the shipping logistics industry has been the most important support for the globalization of production and consumption, and the entire market has continued to grow. However, The shipping and logistics industry in Hong Kong  has become a symbol of falling behind, and even being called sunset industry.  From an internal point of view, Hong Kong  port construction lags behind international demand, and its competitiveness is weakening; from an external point of view, the Pearl River Delta port is developing rapidly, but Hong Kong is standing still, and the goods are naturally diverted to other ports. Under internal and external attacks, Hong Kong's shipping and logistics industry has gradually declined. It is worth mentioning that China is gradually relaxing restrictions on coastal shipping rights, which will directly threaten the main business of the Hong Kong port. If Hong Kong continues to respond to all changes with no change, it may make things worse. According to the "Maritime Law of the People's Republic of China", only cargo ships registered in China and approved to fly the flag of the People's Republic of China can conduct maritime transportation between ports in the mainland. After the restrictions are relaxed, Chinese-funded non-five-star-flagged cargo ships can also transport goods to and from the Mainland Free Trade Port, without the need to transit through Hong Kong. In the long run, Hong Kong's maritime role may be further marginalized.

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