EconomyCNA Explains: Why China’s new Pinglu Canal matters

China’s 134km Pinglu Canal officially opened on Sep 16, completing one of the country’s largest transport infrastructure projects in decades. Via the Beibu Gulf, it gives southwestern China a new sea route and can cut the inland waterway journey for regional goods by more than 560km compared with the route through Guangzhou, with implications for trade and logistics and links to Southeast Asia.