With the development of the electricity market and the increasing penetration of renewable energy sources, there is a growing demand for pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear units to participate in grid load-following operations. The traditional power control strategy based primarily on boron concentration adjustment (A mode) is inefficient during load-following and results in a large amount of boron-containing liquid waste. The gray-and-black rod combined strategy (G mode) improves response speed but suffers from diminished control capability in the later stages of the fuel cycle, making it difficult to meet full-cycle load-following requirements. International advanced Generation III nuclear technologies, such as the AP1000, have adopted the Mechanical Shim (MSHIM) operation mode, which enables full-cycle automatic load-following without boron regulation by employing independent control rod groups for power compensation and axial offset control. To enhance the load-following capability of the HPR1000 reactor and reduce radioactive waste generation, this study proposes an improved advanced core control scheme for the 177-fuel assembly core of HPR1000, drawing on the MSHIM concept without altering major core design parameters. Independent power compensation rod groups (M rods) and axial offset control rod groups (AO rods) are reclassified and optimized in terms of layout, with control logic redesigned to decouple reactivity and power distribution control. Simulation of a typical daily load-following cycle (100%–50%–100% power variation) demonstrates that the proposed scheme achieves automatic boron-free load-following throughout the full fuel cycle, significantly reducing the frequency of boron adjustments and the amount of liquid waste generated, while maintaining core power distribution within safe margins, thereby confirming its feasibility and effectiveness.