Hong Kong signed an agreement with Britain to avoid double taxation on shipping, exempting owners of Hong Kong ships from paying tax levied on cargo taken up in Britain, and vice versa. It was signed in the territory by Hong Kong Secretary for Economic Services Sandra Lee and British Consul-General James Hodge. Lee said at the signing ceremony that the pact strengthened Hong Kong's status as the international maritime center in Asia. "Hong Kong already has double taxation agreements on shipping with our major trading partners, such as the U.S. and mainland China and has also confirmed with the tax authorities of New Zealand and Korea that conditions for reciprocal tax exemption in our laws have been met," Lee said.