What’s the Pinglu Canal, China’s new gateway 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 first such canal built by communist China, Pinglu is a part of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor: A project involving southern Chinese provinces aimed at linking areas in western and southwestern China with Southeast Asian countries and global markets. The land-sea trade corridor is itself a part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, a web of highways, ports and railroads seeking to connect China with Europe and Africa.Aerial view of the Q...