What’s the Pinglu Canal, China’s new gateway to Southeast Asia?

China’s first modern river-to-sea canal could significantly cut down time and costs of trade to Southeast Asia.

A bridge on the Pinglu Canal, which China is inaugurating on September 16, 2026 [Yan Jinchang/VCG via Getty Images]

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 Qingnian Ship Lock of the 135-kilometer Pinglu Canal under construction in Qinzhou, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Saturday, August 16, 2025 [Peng Huan/ Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images]

The real gain: Savings in distance and cost

According to local authorities in Guangxi, the canal will shorten the shipping distance between inland areas of southwest China and Southeast Asian countries by about 560km (350 miles) and reduce logistics costs by 18 to 30 percent.

Estimates by Zhang Zhiwen, deputy secretary-general of the Guangxi government, indicate that transport costs alone will come down by more than 5 billion yuan annually, or about $700m.

The region’s vice chairwoman, Lu Xinning, describes these returns as “tangible gains” that reduce operating costs and boost domestic and foreign trade.

The canal will allow the passage of ships with a capacity of 5,000 tonnes. Its estimated cost is about 72.7 billion yuan, equivalent to about $10.8bn.

This means cities and industrial areas far from the coast in southwest China will become closer to maritime trade routes. The new trade corridor does not serve Guangxi alone; it is connected to a broader network extending to Chongqing in southwest China, Chengdu in Sichuan province, Guizhou and Yunnan, before goods reach the ports of the Beibu Gulf and, from there, overseas markets.

These changes come at a time when trade between China and Southeast Asia is growing rapidly. According to China’s General Administration of Customs, bilateral trade in the first half of 2026 reached about 4.34 trillion yuan, or about $640bn, an increase of 18.2 percent year on year.

At the southern end of the canal, container-handling capacity at Beibu Gulf Port rose from 2.28 million TEUs in 2017 to 10.06 million TEUs in 2025, with a shipping network covering major Southeast Asian ports.

A Chinese national flag flutters against the high-rise residential buildings in Wushan county, in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. Chongqing is one of the major inland regions that the canal will connect to Southeast Asia [Andy Wong/ AP Photo]

From waterway to industrial hub

Guangxi is also working to build what it calls the “Pinglu Canal Economic Belt”, with the aim of attracting industries and spreading them out along the new corridor, while linking them to ports, transport networks and supply chains.

The targeted sectors include non-ferrous metals and critical minerals, modern green chemicals, as well as artificial intelligence and information technology. Industrial zones are also being developed near ports, reducing the distance between production sites and shipping centres.

The process of organising and directing shipping sources has already begun to generate new commercial activity. A train loaded with sodium bisulfate recently arrived from Chongqing, the major industrial and transport hub in southwest China, at the port of Nanning, the capital of Guangxi province. After the canal opens, direct commercial sailings are scheduled to begin to the port of Can Tho in southern Vietnam.

On the operational front, Guangxi has adopted a tiered transit-fee system that gives operators a grace period before imposing nominal charges.

Until December 31, 2026, commercial vessels will pass through the three water gates along the canal completely free of charge. Starting January 1, 2027, a fee of one yuan, about $0.14, will be charged for each tonne of a vessel’s capacity every time it passes through these gates. This trial rate will remain in effect until September 2031.

River vessels can sail directly to the berths of Qinzhou seaport without needing to transfer their cargo to other ships, enabling a seamless transition from river to sea.

Many people in Hengzhou, Guangxi — seen flooded here after a cyclone in July, 2026 — have been displaced by the construction of the canal [China Daily via Reuters]

Resettlement: Another side of the canal project

Building a canal of this scale would not have been possible without addressing a sensitive human dimension: Relocating thousands of families from their land. According to official sources, the resettlement process involved 2,764 households comprising 11,228 people across four counties and county-level cities in Guangxi. In Hengzhou alone, evacuation agreements were signed for 368 homes, which were completely demolished over a total area of 84,200 square metres (906,321 square feet), with 1,221 people temporarily resettled.

The process was not managed solely through financial compensation. Instead, 21 different housing models were designed in accordance with residents’ customs: The orientation of reception rooms, crop-drying areas, poultry enclosures and storage rooms for agricultural chemicals. In Shaping, the largest town in the resettlement project, residents were given four-storey homes covering 420sq metres (4,520sq ft), some with commercial storefronts facing the street.

Still, there is a sense of loss among many, even if mitigated by hope for the future.

In Xinfu, where the village of Fenghuangping once stood, one resident who was forced to leave said: “There is no longer a village called Fenghuangping, but with the Pinglu Canal, tomorrow will be better.”

Some families moved seven-century-old trees to the new site of their homes, including a 217-year-old camphor tree.

The resettlement process was carried out within 39 days, but it was linked to promises of jobs at the construction site and vocational training for residents of the relocated areas.

Ships in Iran’s port city of Bandar Abbas on September 12, 2026 [Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images]

How geography is reshaping trade security

Straits and maritime corridors have long been the arteries of power in the global economy, but they are also among its most sensitive points of weakness.

The Hormuz crisis embodies this paradox: The passageway through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies flow can, when threatened, become a factor that paralyses trade and redraws its routes.

Faced with that backdrop, countries around the world are trying to develop alternative routes and supply chains – pipelines, storage facilities and transport corridors that reduce the dependence of nations on just one or two routes.

The Pinglu Canal is China’s latest endeavour to do just that: Build an alternative, shorter and faster route to a critical market.

中国首条现代化的江海运河可以大幅缩短东南亚贸易的时间和成本。

2026年9月16日，中国将正式启用平陆运河上的一座桥梁。[Yan Jinchang/VCG via Getty Images]

中国北京——中国于周三开通了首条现代化的江海运河，该项目旨在大幅缩短中国南部内陆地区与东南亚（中国重要的贸易伙伴）之间的航运距离。

平陆运河完全位于广西境内，广西是中国最南端与越南接壤、濒临南海的地区。

这条全长134公里（83英里）的水道连接西江和北部湾，北部湾是北部湾的西北支流，位于中国南部和越南北部之间。它为包括云南和贵州等省份在内的中国西南大片地区提供了一条通往海洋和亚洲市场的更便捷路线。

平陆运河是中华人民共和国开凿的第一条运河，也是新国际陆海贸易走廊的一部分。该走廊项目涉及中国南方各省，旨在连接中国西部和西南地区与东南亚国家及全球市场。陆海贸易走廊本身又是中国国家主席习近平提出的“一带一路”倡议的一部分，该倡议旨在通过公路、港口和铁路网络，将中国与欧洲和非洲连接起来。

2025年8月16日星期六，在广西壮族自治区钦州市，正在建设中的平陆运河135公里长的青年船闸鸟瞰图。[彭欢/ Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images]

真正的收益：节省距离和成本

据广西地方当局称，该运河将使中国西南内陆地区与东南亚国家之间的航运距离缩短约 560 公里（350 英里），并降低 18% 至 30% 的物流成本。

广西壮族自治区政府副秘书长张志文估计，仅运输成本每年就能减少50亿元人民币以上，约合7亿美元。

该地区副主席卢欣宁将这些回报描述为“有形收益”，可降低运营成本并促进国内外贸易。

这条运河将允许排水量为5000吨的船舶通行。其预计耗资约727亿元人民币，约合108亿美元。

这意味着中国西南地区远离海岸的城市和工业区将更靠近海上贸易路线。这条新的贸易走廊不仅服务于广西，它还与一个更广泛的网络相连，该网络延伸至西南地区的重庆、四川省的成都、贵州和云南，货物最终抵达北部湾港口，并从那里销往海外市场。

这些变化正值中国与东南亚贸易快速增长之际。据中国海关总署统计，2026年上半年双边贸易额将达到约4.34万亿元人民币，约合6400亿美元，同比增长18.2%。

在运河南端，北部湾港的集装箱吞吐能力从 2017 年的 228 万标准箱增加到 2025 年的 1006 万标准箱，其航运网络覆盖东南亚主要港口。

2025年5月21日，星期三，一面中国国旗在重庆市巫山县的高层住宅楼前飘扬。重庆是运河连接东南亚的主要内陆地区之一。[Andy Wong/ AP Photo]

从水路到工业中心

广西也在努力建设所谓的“平庐运河经济带”，其目标是吸引产业并沿着新走廊进行布局，同时将这些产业与港口、运输网络和供应链连接起来。

重点发展领域包括有色金属和关键矿产、现代绿色化学品以及人工智能和信息技术。此外，还在港口附近开发工业园区，以缩短生产基地与航运中心之间的距离。

组织和引导航运资源的工作已经开始催生新的商业活动。近日，一列满载硫酸氢钠的火车从中国西南地区重要的工业和交通枢纽重庆抵达广西壮族自治区省会南宁港。运河开通后，预计将开通直达越南南部芹苴港的商业航线。

在运营方面，广西采用了分级过境费制度，给予运营商一段宽限期，之后才会收取象征性费用。

截至2026年12月31日，商船可免费通过运河沿线的三个水闸。自2027年1月1日起，船舶每次通过这些水闸将按每吨吨位收取1元人民币（约合0.14美元）的费用。该试行费率将持续至2031年9月。

内河船舶可以直接驶入钦州海港的泊位，无需将货物转运到其他船舶上，从而实现从内河到海洋的无缝过渡。

广西衡州市（图为2026年7月飓风过后被洪水淹没的地区）的许多居民因运河建设而流离失所。[中国日报 via 路透社]

重新安置：运河工程的另一面

修建如此规模的运河，必然会牵涉到一个敏感的人道主义问题：数千户家庭被迫搬迁。据官方统计，广西四个县市共涉及2764户家庭，11228人，全部被安置。仅在衡州市，就有368户房屋签订了搬迁协议，这些房屋被彻底拆除，总面积达84200平方米（906321平方英尺），1221人被临时安置。

整个安置过程并非仅靠经济补偿来实现。相反，项目组根据居民的习俗设计了21种不同的住房模式，包括接待室的朝向、作物晾晒区、家禽圈​​舍以及农药储藏室等。在安置项目中最大的城镇沙平，居民们住进了占地420平方米（4520平方英尺）的四层住宅，部分住宅还带有临街的商铺。

尽管如此，许多人心中仍然感到失落，即使对未来抱有希望可以减轻这种感觉。

在曾经的凤凰坪村所在的辛富村，一位被迫离开的村民说：“凤凰坪村已经不存在了，但有了平路运河，明天会更好。”

有些家庭将七百年的老树移植到新家所在地，其中包括一棵 217 年树龄的樟树。

安置过程在 39 天内完成，但与承诺在建筑工地提供工作岗位以及为搬迁地区的居民提供职业培训挂钩。

2026 年 9 月 12 日，船舶停靠在伊朗港口城市阿巴斯港 [Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images]

地理因素如何重塑贸易安全

海峡和海上通道长期以来一直是全球经济的权力动脉，但它们也是全球经济最脆弱的薄弱环节之一。

霍尔木兹危机体现了这一悖论：世界上大约五分之一的石油供应都要经过这条通道，一旦受到威胁，它就会成为瘫痪贸易并重新划分贸易路线的因素。

在这种背景下，世界各国都在努力发展替代路线和供应链——管道、储存设施和运输走廊，以减少各国对一两条路线的依赖。

平陆运河是中国为实现这一目标而做出的最新努力：修建一条通往重要市场的替代性、更短、更快捷的路线。