Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said the government is actively exploring new cargo sources and opportunities in the mainland and South America.

Speaking to RTHK to mark the third year of Chief Executive John Lee's administration, Chan said her bureau has been promoting the SAR as an aviation and logistics hub to mainland enterprises.

Chan said she had visited Guangxi, Chongqing and Chengdu since she took office, as these western mainland provinces and cities connect to Central Asia and Central Europe.

“One of the key goals for us to go directly to the source of goods in the mainland is to establish new logistics channels,” she said.

"This way, we can promote the services that Hong Kong can provide as an aviation and logistic hub to these mainland manufacturing bases."

Although some may think it’ll be more straightforward to ship from mainland ports or airports, Chan said, the SAR possesses advantages such as fast customs clearance, high efficiency and the most cold chain charging facilities in Asia.

The logistics chief also said Hong Kong can act as a gateway for South America to ship goods to the mainland and vice versa, given that more transshipments have been coming and going through Hong Kong ports in recent years.

Chan said transshipments from the mainland to South America through Hong Kong ports have grown by 14 percent between 2018 and last year, while goods from South America transshipped via Hong Kong to the mainland saw a significant increase of 48 percent.

The South American goods, she added, were shipped to key mainland ports such as Guangxi, Zhejiang and Shanghai.

“In recent years, our emphasis has been on developing the South American market," Chan said.

"We are also promoting Hong Kong as ‘the Gateway to South America’ because of our extensive flight network and frequent services.

"This allows us to achieve synergy with some airports or ports on the mainland.

"Even though our costs may not be the cheapest, we can stand out with our high-quality services.”

Chan said her bureau will also study the possibility of using high-speed trains for cargo shipments after she had been shown a passenger train being converted in short order into a cargo train in Chongqing.