On March 27, the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Maritime Industry Banquet 2026 jointly hosted by the Shenzhen Ports Association and the Hong Kong Container Terminal Operators Association, was successfully held in Hong Kong. The gathering offered a moment to reflect on the dedication and achievements of 2025, while jointly envisioning a new blueprint for deeper, coordinated development between the two cities' port and shipping sectors.

A Two-Way Journey Gains Momentum, Deepening Shenzhen–Hong Kong Maritime Bonds

As one of the most influential exchange platforms in the Shenzhen–Hong Kong maritime community, the Banquet has been held for over two decades. It continues to serve as a vital forum for dialogue, collaboration, and mutual inspiration among industry stakeholders from both cities.

The event received strong backing and high-level participation from the governments of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Nearly 200 representatives from government authorities, port enterprises, and the shipping industry came together, including Jia Liwei, Deputy Director of the Transportation Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, Liu Chun San, Under Secretary for Transport and Logistics of the Transport and Logistics Bureau of Hong Kong SAR, Yim Kong and Lam Ming-fung, Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong SAR, Patrick Lam, Chairman of the Hong Kong Container Terminal Operators Association, and Lawrence Shum, President of the Shenzhen Ports Association and Managing Director of Hutchison Ports YANTIAN.

Liu Chun San, Under Secretary for Transport and Logistics of the Transport and Logistics Bureau of Hong Kong SAR
Backed by the motherland and connected to the world, Hong Kong stands as a globally renowned maritime hub and a premier gateway linking the Chinese mainland with international markets. Looking ahead, Hong Kong will continue to strengthen its role as the Greater Bay Area's maritime "super connector," deepening collaboration with fellow GBA cities, fostering complementary advantages, and further enhancing the collective competitiveness of Hong Kong's ports and the broader GBA regional port cluster.

Li Guantao, Deputy Director, Ports and Shipping Department of Transportation Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality
Shenzhen and Hong Kong, united by a shared bay, shine as dual port hubs whose complementary strengths have delivered remarkable results. YANTIAN in Shenzhen boasts one of the world's most intensive Europe and US service networks, while Hong Kong's Kwai Tsing Port provides extensive coverage across Asia. Together, they operate in synergy, jointly shaping the Greater Bay Area into a premier global gateway.

Patrick Lam, Chairman of the Hong Kong Container Terminal Operators Association
Hong Kong is a time-honoured international maritime centre with deep-rooted strengths, while Shenzhen's ports are distinguished by advanced infrastructure and world-leading efficiency. Amid a rapidly evolving global landscape, collaboration remains the only path to shared success. We must embrace openness, innovation, and partnership—leveraging the distinct strengths of both cities, refining the division of roles, and advancing four strategic priorities: high value-added development, green transformation, smart innovation, and coordinated growth.

Lawrence Shum, Chairman of the Shenzhen Ports Association
This year marks both the opening of the 15th Five-Year Plan period and the APEC China Year. I am confident that, through close collaboration across the Shenzhen–Hong Kong maritime community, we will fully leverage our world-class strengths in road and rail networks, as well as our seaport and airport capabilities. Together, we will advance seamless domestic and international connectivity, strengthening "hard connectivity" of infrastructure, "soft connectivity" of rules and mechanisms, and "heart-to-heart connectivity." In doing so, we will elevate the Shenzhen–Hong Kong cross-boundary corridor into a key node for Asia-Pacific cooperation.

Anchoring the 15th Five-Year Plan to Build a New High Ground for Shenzhen–Hong Kong Cooperation

As 2026 marks the inaugural year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan, the national blueprint has injected strong momentum into Shenzhen–Hong Kong port and shipping collaboration. It explicitly calls for consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong's status as an international financial, shipping, and trade centre, underscoring the nation's strategic commitment to the sector and providing a robust policy foundation and sustained impetus for deeper bilateral cooperation.

The Plan also highlights the need to promote a more balanced development of imports and exports, creating fresh opportunities for Shenzhen and Hong Kong to leverage their respective strengths, expand imports from a new vantage point, and advance high-level opening-up. In parallel, it supports accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis. The Hong Kong SAR Government is actively formulating its first five-year development plan to align more closely with national strategies. YANTIAN should seize the strategic opportunities presented by the Northern Metropolis initiative, fully harnessing the natural advantages of deep-water channels and the complementary strengths of the port and logistics sectors in both cities, to build a new, high-level platform for Shenzhen–Hong Kong port and shipping cooperation.

Fruitful Outcomes, Shenzhen–Hong Kong in True Energy Alignment

The success of Shenzhen–Hong Kong port and shipping cooperation is best illustrated through concrete, high-impact initiatives—LNG bunkering being a prime example:

• Shenzhen leads the way: In November 2022, YANTIAN completed South China's first LNG bunkering operation for an ocean-going vessel.
• Visionary initiative: As early as 2023, YANTIAN proposed extending Shenzhen-based LNG bunkering services to Hong Kong, reinforcing Hong Kong's status as a leading international maritime hub.
• Close collaboration: Governments and industry players in Shenzhen and Hong Kong have worked in lockstep, sharing expertise and jointly advancing green shipping innovation.
• Implementation in Hong Kong: Anchorage bunkering was achieved on February 14, 2025, followed by alongside bunkering at terminal on November 16, 2025.
• Proven results: This collaboration reflects true alignment in both vision and energy, highlighting complementary strengths and mutual benefit. It expands international LNG bunkering capacity in both cities, supports Hong Kong's continued leadership as a global maritime centre, and contributes meaningfully to China's dual carbon goals.

A Three-Way Win, Forging an Inland Foreign Trade "Golden Corridor"

On August 20, 2025, the Chongqing-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Scheduled Rail-Sea Service marked its first anniversary. Its proven model has since been successfully replicated in the Chengdu–Shenzhen-Hong Kong Scheduled Rail-Sea Service. Beyond ensuring reliable, fixed departures, it has slashed transit time from the Chengdu–Chongqing region to YANTIAN from six days to just two. Leveraging the efficient Shenzhen–Hong Kong Connect, cargo reaches Hong Kong's Kwai Tsing Port on day three, before being swiftly distributed to over 200 countries and regions worldwide, offering inland exporters a stable, efficient, and low-carbon gateway to global markets.

This “golden corridor, linking the Chengdu–Chongqing economic circle with the Greater Bay Area, maximises the complementary service advantages of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. It delivers shared gains for inland regions, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong alike, and has earned formal recognition in the Hong Kong Chief Executive's 2025 Policy Address.

YANTIAN has long been a driving force behind Shenzhen–Hong Kong cooperation. Feeder services between YANTIAN and Hong Kong have operated for over 32 years, with six daily sailings. Throughput continues to grow steadily: following a nearly 30% surge in laden container volumes in 2024, 2025 is sustaining double-digit growth, setting yet another record high.

Shenzhen–Hong Kong Join Forces to Harness APEC, Advancing Toward a New Asia-Pacific Cooperation Hub

This year, the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will take place in Shenzhen. As an APEC member and a core city within the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong—benefiting from its close proximity to Shenzhen and the distinctive advantages of "one country, two systems”—once again commands global attention.

As a trailblazer in Shenzhen–Hong Kong cooperation for over three decades, YANTIAN was born of this partnership and has thrived through its evolution. Embracing the fresh opportunities presented by the APEC China Year and the launch of the 15th Five-Year Plan, YANTIAN will continue to actively support deeper integration in shipping and logistics between the two cities. By further leveraging the complementary strengths of YANTIAN and Hong Kong, both sides will enhance their role as a strategic hub that connects the domestic economy with global markets. Meanwhile, efforts will be made to expand rail-sea intermodal networks with more mainland cities through additional scheduled services, fostering shared growth and mutual benefit, and enabling Hong Kong to better integrate into and serve the country's broader development agenda.

Looking ahead, YANTIAN will remain committed to supporting Shenzhen in its ambition to become a logistics centre with global influence, while reinforcing Hong Kong's position as a leading international shipping and trade centre. Together, the two sides will deliver outcomes that benefit both Shenzhen and Hong Kong, elevating their collaboration from an efficient cross-border corridor to a dynamic Asia-Pacific cooperation hub. In doing so, they will strengthen the Greater Bay Area's global competitiveness and make contributions to the nation's dual carbon goals and the high-quality development of foreign trade.