China opened the Pinglu Canal on Wednesday, giving its landlocked southwest a shortcut to the coast and overseas markets, particularly those in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the country’s largest trading partner.
Built at a cost of 72.7 billion yuan (about US$10.75 billion), the 134.2-kilometre canal runs from Nanning, capital of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, to the Beibu Gulf, the closest maritime outlet for much of southwest China. The canal stretches along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a strategic trade route connecting China’s inland regions with ASEAN and other global markets. It is the first river-to-sea canal project planned and coordinated at the national level since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
Designed for vessels of up to 5,000 tonnes, the canal shortens the inland waterway journey for goods from southwest China to the sea by more than 560 kilometres compared with traditional routes through ports in Guangdong Province. — Xinhua
#TheGlobalNewLightOfMyanmar