What’s the Pinglu Canal, China’s new gateway to Southeast Asia?
China's first modern river-to-sea canal could significantly cut down time and costs of trade to Southeast Asia.
Beijing, China – China is opening its first modern river-to-sea canal for navigation on Wednesday, a project that aims to dramatically cut down shipping distances between the country’s southern hinterland and Southeast Asia, a region that serves as a critical trade partner.
The Pinglu Canal is located entirely in Guangxi, the region in China’s far south bordering Vietnam and overlooking the South China Sea.
This 134km (83-mile) waterway links the Xijiang River with the Beibu Gulf, the northwestern arm of the Gulf of Tonkin stretching between southern China and northern Vietnam. It gives vast areas of southwest China, including provinces such as Yunnan and Guizhou, a shorter route to the sea and to Asian markets.
The process of organising and directing shipping sources has already begun to generate new commercial activity. A train loaded with sodium bisulfate recently arrived from Chongqing, the major industrial and transport hub in southwest China, at the port of Nanning, the capital of Guangxi province. After the canal opens, direct commercial sailings are scheduled to begin to the port of Can Tho in southern Vietnam.