China opens Pinglu Canal to give southwest access to the coast
China on Wednesday, September 16, opened the 134.2-kilometer Pinglu Canal. As ECNS reports, the project is intended to provide the country’s landlocked southwestern inland regions with a shorter route to the coast and foreign markets.
Canal route
The waterway runs from Nanning, the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China, to the Beibu Gulf. The Beibu Gulf is the nearest maritime outlet for a significant part of the country’s southwest.
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Cost and trade
Construction of the Pinglu Canal cost 72.7 billion yuan, or approximately $10.75 billion. The ECNS report calls the new canal a trade route important primarily for ties with the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
ASEAN is China’s largest trading partner. The canal is expected to shorten the route from the country’s southwestern inland regions to the seacoast and overseas markets.
