An aerial image shows Pinglu Canal in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. HE HUAWEN/FOR CHINA DAILY

The newly opened Pinglu Canal is reshaping regional logistics and reducing transport costs by providing southwestern China with its first direct waterway to the sea and closer access to Southeast Asian markets.

Opened to navigation on Sept 16, the 134.2-kilometer waterway connects the Xijiang River system in the north to Beibu Gulf in the south. Despite Beibu Gulf being southwestern China's closest maritime outlet, geographical barriers historically prevented a direct north-south connection.

Previously, waterborne freight between the region and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations had to detour extensively eastward along the Xijiang River before reaching the ocean. The canal now creates a second navigable route to the sea for the Pearl River-Xijiang system, offering the inland region a direct southern path to global markets.

The canal's immediate impact on corporate logistics is already visible. Recently, a batch of auto parts from SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile began its journey from Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Transported by road to the Liujing port area in Nanning, the cargo will be loaded onto ships, travel south via the Pinglu Canal to the Beibu Gulf, and eventually head to Vietnam.

Wei Qingfu, a logistics manager at the automaker, noted that the canal provides a new maritime route for industries like automobiles, construction machinery and new energy batteries, helping enterprises improve delivery efficiency and lower comprehensive logistics costs.

For companies highly dependent on bulk water transport, the canal enhances supply chain stability. In Long'an county along the upper reaches of the Youjiang River, Guangxi Long'an Hetai New Materials Co has established a production base focusing on mid-to-upstream aluminum products.

The company's chief engineer, Li Xiaoqiang, explained that the firm imports African bauxite and Australian coal, while exporting aluminum products and cement clinker. He said the new waterway supplements their previous reliance on the Xijiang channel, securing a more stable route for both raw material imports and product exports.

This improved connectivity is also influencing investment decisions. At the Liujing Industrial Park in Nanning, located about 50 km from the canal's starting point, French company SNF Group is accelerating the construction of a paper chemical project with an annual capacity of 370,000 metric tons. The enterprise was drawn to the area by the logistics convenience brought by the canal and Nanning's strategic location facing ASEAN, aiming to further expand its overseas market presence.

Similarly, near the canal's terminus at the Qinzhou port area, COFCO Oils & Oilseeds (Qinzhou) Co is preparing for the influx of maritime traffic. The company, which processes soybeans from countries like Brazil and Uruguay for markets in Chinese provincial-level regions of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Guangxi, has already engaged with terminals and agricultural enterprises along the route to ensure a stable cargo source.

Expectations are also high for the agricultural sector. Zheng Yunliang, general manager of Nanning Puleng International Logistics Co, who recently expanded his cold chain business in Guangxi, pointed out that as port and storage facilities improve, fresh fruits and other agricultural products will likely utilize the new waterway.

Zheng said that in the long run this will lower costs, facilitating the entry of more ASEAN agricultural goods into China and helping southwestern Chinese specialty products reach Southeast Asia more easily.

As a crucial component of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, the Pinglu Canal integrates the inland river network, the southwestern railway system and the Beibu Gulf seaport cluster. This integration was demonstrated recently when a multi-modal transport train carrying goods from Sichuan departed from Chengdu to Vietnam, utilizing both rail and the new canal route. Businesses in Yunnan and Guizhou are also actively seeking freight partnerships.

As the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor network continues to expand, the Pinglu Canal is poised to connect with even broader regions. Historically, exports from Central Asian countries have relied on freight trains to reach China's eastern coastal ports before heading overseas.

The newly operational canal is now expected to provide these landlocked nations with a significantly more convenient southern maritime exit, ultimately linking wider regions, industries and markets to open up a vast new space for global trade.