'SZ, HK should join hands to grow external trade'

As Shenzhen's maritime logistics industry has taken off in recent years, a senior official at one of the world's busiest container terminals said Hong Kong still had much to offer as the nation forges closer ties with the world. Yantian Port, in eastern Shenzhen, is a vital gateway between the nation's manufacturing engine and global markets. It handles more than one-third of Guangdong's foreign trade and a quarter of the country's container exports to the United States. According to the Shenzhen municipal government, the deep-water port handled 16.1 million TEUs, or twenty-foot equivalent units, in 2025, representing a 7.1 percent year-on-year increase. Lawrence Shum, managing director of Yantian, a subsidiary of Hutchison Ports, said the terminal operates nearly 100 international routes on a weekly basis. Fifty-three of those routes are linked to Apec economies. "Since the start of this year, we have added 14 new routes to and from Apec economies, further expanding our international network and fostering regional trade," he said. "According to the customs figures, Shenzhen continues to lead the country in both imports and exports to Apec economies. We even set a record in the first nine months of this year, with a trade value of 3.23 trillion yuan, a 40 percent jump." Shum...