China close to opening US$10 billion canal linking heartlands to Southeast Asia
The vast waterway in China’s southern Guangxi region is set to open before the end of 2026, according to state media reports
China is expected to finish construction on the landmark Pinglu Canal before the end of this year, taking just four years to complete the 72.7 billion yuan (US$10.4 billion) project to boost trade links with the country’s top export destination: Southeast Asia.
The mega-project will provide China’s landlocked southwestern provinces with direct access to global shipping lanes, making it faster and cheaper to transport goods between the Chinese interior and neighbouring countries.
Construction on the project has already entered its final phase, and it is set to open to navigation by the end of 2026, state media outlet China National Radio reported on Wednesday.
About 89.7 per cent of the planned investment has been completed, Guangxi Daily reported on Sunday, citing a government conference.
The Pinglu Canal features a waterway large enough to accommodate 5,000-tonne vessels, three dual-line shiplock hubs, and 27 newly built or renovated bridges, 13 of which have already been put into operation, the report said.
With work progressing smoothly, preparations to open the canal to shipping traffic are set to begin from May, according to the report, citing a senior manager on the project.
The canal will serve a crucial role in connecting China’s inland waterway network with the sea, enabling direct shipments from Guangxi as well as Guizhou and Yunnan provinces to coastal ports and onwards to global markets.
In value terms, the 11-nation Southeast Asian bloc is China’s top trading partner, with two-way trade reaching US$1.05 trillion last year, up 7.4 per cent year on year. Its trade with the US was US$559.7 billion, down 18.7 per cent.
Guangxi’s Beibu Gulf Port, which lies at the southern end of the Pinglu Canal, handled over 10 million twenty-foot equivalent units of containers last year, becoming one of southwestern China’s major cargo hubs.
Once the canal is open, vessels from the Chinese interior heading to coastal ports will be able to bypass Guangdong province – southern China’s traditional gateway to global markets – reducing shipping distances by about 560km (348 miles), according to a 2024 report by Xinhua.
Local officials and entrepreneurs in southwestern China have placed high hopes on the project, believing it will catalyse the development of industrial clusters along the waterway and provide a major boost to regional exports.
The opening of the Pinglu Canal marks a “historic step for Nanning”, allowing it to transition from an inland city to a maritime gateway, said Chen Liangjun, the head of a business group in Guangxi, during a reception earlier this month.
Chen added that the canal would turn Nanning into a strategic hub connecting China’s interior with the Asean market, according to a report by the state-run China News Service on Friday.