The Hong Kong Chamber of Shipping was officially established on Monday with an aim to shore up Hong Kong’s status as an international shipping hub.

Addressing a launch reception, Leung Chun-ying, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, who is also a founder member and adviser of the newly established industry body, said that the institutional advantage of the “one country, two systems” underpins and constitutes the unique edge of Hong Kong’s shipping sector.

Leung called for harnessing the strengths of Hong Kong, looking at the bigger picture and walking the walk to coordinate among the shipping, trade, financial, professional and educational sectors toward the same goal.

He hoped that Hong Kong can harness and combine the strengths of the Chinese mainland for an integrated national maritime ecosystem, while inching towards the high value-added end of the value chain.

The sky is the limit for Hong Kong’s maritime sector if such potential could be fully tapped, Leung believed.