The Pinglu Canal in Guangxi was officially open to navigation on September 16, right before the annual China-ASEAN Expo. Goods from the provinces in southwest China now have a "shortcut" to the sea, cutting the journey by 560 kilometers.
In the future, goods from Yunnan will enter the canal via the Funing Port and go directly to the Beibu Gulf. Covering a total distance of about 720 kilometers, the waterway will make Yunnan's shortest outlet to the sea.
This waterway complements the advantages of the China-Laos Railway, building a rail-river-sea multimodal transport network and further enhancing connectivity between China and Southeast Asia.
