HKSAR Government strongly opposes US imposition of port fees on Chinese-owned, operated, or built vessels
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government strongly opposes and expresses grave dissatisfaction towards the United States (US) authorities' imposition of port fees on vessels owned, operated, or built by Chinese companies and other relevant measures.
A spokesperson for the HKSAR Government said, "Under the unique institutional strengths of 'one country, two systems', Hong Kong, as a globally renowned international maritime centre, has long been providing a free and open, level-playing and efficient, as well as a well-regulated business environment for shipping enterprises worldwide to operate. The US measures are blatantly discriminatory, deliberately dividing the international maritime community and undermining the spirit of solidarity and co-operation built over the years. Such actions fall short of the basic standards of international conduct."
The HKSAR Government condemns such bullying acts. Hong Kong will continue to uphold the spirit of openness and co-operation, working with global maritime partners to safeguard free trade principles and promote the healthy development of the international shipping industry. The spokesperson emphasised that only by adhering to fairness and justice, mutual benefit, and win-win co-operation can the common interests of the global maritime community be truly protected.
Results of monthly survey on business situation of small and medium-sized enterprises for December 2025
The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (January 13) the results of the Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) for December 2025.
The current diffusion index (DI) on business receipts amongst SMEs increased from 44.5 in November 2025 in the contractionary zone to 44.9 in December 2025, whereas the one-month's ahead (i.e. January 2026) outlook DI on business receipts was 47.3. Analysed by sector, the current DIs on business receipts for some surveyed sectors rose in December 2025 as compared with previous month, particularly for the real estate (from 47.1 to 49.3) and import and export trades (from 44.7 to 46.4).
The current DI on new orders for the import and export trades increased from 46.0 in November 2025 to 47.7 in December 2025, whereas the outlook DI on new orders in one month's time (i.e. January 2026) was 48.4.
Commentary
A Government spokesman said that business sentiment among SMEs in December 2025 broadly continued to recover. The current diffusion index on business receipts increased somewhat in December, and the index on outlook in one month's time stayed at a relatively high level. Meanwhile, the overall employment situation also indicated further improvement.
Looking ahead, local business sentiment should continue to be underpinned by the continued positive momentum of the Hong Kong economy. The Government will closely monitor the uncertainties in the external environment.
Further information
The Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises aims to provide a quick reference, with minimum time lag, for assessing the short-term business situation faced by SMEs. SMEs covered in this survey refer to companies with fewer than 50 persons engaged. Respondents were asked to exclude seasonal fluctuations in reporting their views. Based on the views collected from the survey, a set of diffusion indices (including current and outlook diffusion indices) is compiled. A reading above 50 indicates that the business condition is generally favourable, whereas that below 50 indicates otherwise. As for statistics on the business prospects of prominent companies in Hong Kong, users may refer to the publication entitled "Report on Quarterly Business Tendency Survey" released by the C&SD.
The results of the survey should be interpreted with care. The survey solicits feedback from a panel sample of about 600 SMEs each month and the survey findings are thus subject to sample size constraint. Views collected from the survey refer only to those of respondents on their own companies rather than those on the respective sectors they are engaged in. Besides, in this type of opinion survey on expected business situation, the views collected in the survey are affected by the events in the community occurring around the time of enumeration, and it is difficult to establish precisely the extent to which respondents' perception of the business situation accords with the underlying trends. For this survey, main bulk of the data were collected around the last week of the reference month.
More detailed statistics are given in the "Report on Monthly Survey on the Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises". Users can browse and download the publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1080015&scode=300).
Users who have enquiries about the survey results may contact Industrial Production Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7246; email: sme-survey@censtatd.gov.hk).
Source: AI-found images
