Hong Kong-mainland trade sees steady growth over past 29 years

Trade between the mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has been growing steadily since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland 29 years ago, expanding from 420.87 billion yuan (around 61.89 billion U.S. dollars) in 1997 to 2.6 trillion yuan (around 382.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025, representing an average yearly growth of 6.7 percent, according to the Shenzhen Customs.

In the first five months of 2026, the total exports and imports between the mainland and Hong Kong hit 1.4 trillion yuan (around 205.9 billion U.S. dollars), marking a year-on-year increase of 48.6 percent.

The United States and Iran carried out fresh strikes on each other’s targets, as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz escalated after the U.S. accused Iran of attacking commercial shipping and Iran said it was responding to recent U.S. “aggression”.

Iranian state television reported early Sunday local time that several explosions were heard in the Sirik area of Hormozgan Province in southern Iran. It also said Qeshm Island and areas near Bandar Lengeh, both in southern Iran, had come under attack.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday afternoon U.S. time that American forces had launched a new round of strikes on multiple targets inside Iran. It said the operation came after Iranian forces launched an attack drone early Saturday that hit an oil tanker sailing near the Strait of Hormuz.

CENTCOM said the U.S. strikes targeted 10 Iranian military sites in and around the strait, including surveillance facilities, communications systems, air defense positions, drone storage facilities and mine-laying equipment. It called the operation a direct response to what it described as Iran’s continued actions against commercial shipping.

Shortly afterward, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its naval and air forces had used missiles and drones to strike eight key U.S. military facilities at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

The IRGC said the strikes were a decisive response to recent U.S. “aggression,” accusing the U.S. of repeatedly breaking its commitments and using the IRGC Navy’s “interception of a violating vessel” as a pretext to attack five Iranian coastal outposts.

In a separate statement, the IRGC Navy said U.S. strikes on the Sirik area would not change Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz. It said Iran’s warning shots at “violating” vessels were intended to remind ships to follow designated routes through the waterway.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday also accused Iran of again violating the ceasefire agreement in a social media post.

The latest exchange of fire followed U.S. strikes on Iran on Friday, which CENTCOM said were launched in response to an Iranian drone attack on a commercial vessel passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the U.S. airstrikes, saying they violated a memorandum of understanding between the two sides and that Iran would defend its sovereignty and security under international law.