China on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, opened the Pinglu Grand Canal in the southern Guangxi region at a cost of about 72.7 billion yuan (about 10.75 billion US dollars), aiming to link the inland river network with the sea and provide landlocked areas in the southwest with a shorter route to overseas markets, particularly those of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
A shorter route to the Beibu Gulf
The canal stretches 134.2 kilometres and links Nanning, the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with the Beibu Gulf, the closest sea outlet for most of southwestern China.
The canal was designed to accommodate vessels carrying up to 5,000 tonnes and is expected to shorten the freight route from southwestern China to the sea by more than 560 kilometres compared with traditional routes through ports in Guangdong province.
Lower logistics costs
The canal is expected to cut total logistics costs by between 18% and 30%, while saving more than 5 billion yuan a year in transport costs.
The canal is part of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a strategic trade route linking China’s inland regions with ASEAN countries and other global markets. It is also the first river-to-sea canal project to have been planned and coordinated at the national level since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
China-ASEAN trade exceeds 1 trillion US dollars
The canal opens amid expanding trade relations between China and ASEAN countries, after trade between the two sides surpassed 1 trillion US dollars for the first time last year.
In the first seven months of 2026, trade between China and ASEAN countries reached about 744.41 billion US dollars, up 24.7% year on year and equivalent to 21.8% of China’s total foreign trade during the same period.
