On September 16, 2026, the Pinglu Canal officially opened for navigation.

As the only western province in China along the coast, river, and border, Guangxi has a coastline of over 1600 kilometers, borders the Beibu Gulf to the south, and boasts excellent ports such as Fangcheng Port, Qinzhou Port, and Beihang Port. However, for a long time, although Guangxi faces the sea, it lacks a natural inland waterway to connect the inland hinterland with the Beibu Gulf seaport. Going inland to coastal ports requires detours or long-distance land transportation.

The completion of the Pinglu Canal has added this link. The Pinglu Canal has a total length of 134.2 kilometers and a total investment of approximately 72.73 billion yuan, with an average cost of 540 million yuan per kilometer. This canal starts at the mouth of Pingtang River in Xijin Reservoir Area, Hengzhou City, Nanning, passes through Luwu Town, Lingshan County, Qinzhou, and leads directly to Beibu Gulf along the Qinjiang River. The canal is constructed according to the Class I standard for inland rivers and can accommodate ships of up to 5000 tons. The most obvious change after the opening of the canal is the decrease in logistics costs and improvement in transportation efficiency.

Why invest huge amounts of money in excavating this canal in today's era of high-speed rail and high-speed network? What changes will the connection of this waterway bring to Guangxi?

Timing

The construction concept of the Pinglu Canal was formed during the Republic of China period. Sun Yat sen envisioned Qinzhou as an important seaport in his "National Strategy" to shorten the distance from the southwestern hinterland to the sea. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Guangdong and Guangxi conducted three surveys on the project. The Pinglu Canal project has also been included in a series of important national plans such as the Overall Plan for the Western Land Sea New Corridor and the National Comprehensive Three dimensional Transportation Network Planning Outline.

Previously, there were mainly two ways for Southwest inland goods to go abroad: one was to transport goods directly from Yunnan Guizhou and Guangxi inland to Beibu Gulf ports through highways and railways; The second is to rely on the the Pearl River water system to transport eastward to Guangdong, and then go to sea through the Pearl River Delta port. Two channels, one with high logistics costs and limited transportation capacity, and the other with long detours and low efficiency.

From the perspective of location conditions, Guangxi is the only western province in China with an seaport. Qinzhou Port, Fangcheng Port, and Beihai Port in the Beibu Gulf are all natural deep-water ports with superior port conditions and shipping potential. However, most of the rivers in Guangxi belong to the Xijiang River system. Influenced by the altitude drop and terrain trend, the rivers flow into the the Pearl River from west to east. As a result, goods in the middle and upper reaches of the Xijiang River in the southwestern region can only flow downstream along the river and bypass the ports in the Pearl River Delta to go out to sea, causing a water transportation breakpoint in the Beibu Gulf.

Lei Xiaohua, Deputy Director of the Southeast Asian Research Institute of Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that the core reason for starting the construction of the Pinglu Canal for navigation at present is that the time for economic development is already ripe. In the past, the industrial foundation and agglomeration in the western region were weak, and the demand for foreign trade and freight transportation was limited. Even if goods needed to bypass the Pearl River Delta to go abroad, they could basically match the market supply and demand at that time and meet the needs of regional development.But with the promotion of the national regional strategy, the continuous implementation of the Western Development and the construction of the Chengdu Chongqing dual city economic circle, the rapid rise of industries in the southwest region, the continuous expansion of production capacity in industries such as steel and equipment manufacturing, and the significant surge in demand for goods transportation and export. The original water transportation channel that circumnavigated the Pearl River Delta to the east is no longer suitable for the current development pace and freight demand in the southwest region due to its long distance, high cost, and saturated capacity. In this context, the construction of the Pinglu Canal has emerged, opening up a water transportation shortcut from the southwest to the Beibu Gulf, which can shorten the sea voyage by about 560 kilometers, reduce logistics costs by 18% -30%, and save about 5.2 billion yuan in transportation costs for society every year, with significant economic benefits.

As a native of Qinzhou, Professor Fu Yuanjia from the School of Digital Economy Management at Guangxi Foreign Studies University has been closely following the construction process of the Pinglu Canal and has conducted on-site research along the route multiple times.

In Fu Yuanjia's view, the Pinglu Canal project is an inevitable measure to adapt to the coordinated development of national regions, upgrade comprehensive transportation, and optimize the pattern of opening up to the outside world. For a long time, China's transportation construction has been concentrated in the fields of high-speed rail, highways, aviation, and maritime transportation, while the current development focus is gradually shifting towards filling the gaps in high-grade inland waterways. Compared to highways and railways, inland waterway transportation has a larger capacity, lower cost, and higher investment cost-effectiveness. It can efficiently promote the two-way flow of various production factors such as capital, technology, and talent between the eastern, central, and western regions, help the central and western regions to undertake high-quality industries and resources from the east, and promote balanced regional economic development throughout the country. At the level of opening up, the canal water system is also an important support for high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road". Previously, China's inland channels to ASEAN were relatively weak. After the implementation of major water system projects such as the Pinglu Canal, Xianggui Canal, and Ganyue Canal, close distance water transport channels from inland to ASEAN will be opened up, allowing the southwestern and central southern inland regions to directly connect with the Southeast Asian market, further deepening the economic and trade exchanges and connectivity between China and ASEAN, and improving the pattern of opening up to the south.

From the perspective of the overall national water transportation plan, China is building a high-level water transportation pattern of "four verticals, four horizontals, and two networks", with about 25000 kilometers of high-level waterways to be built by 2035. At present, over 18000 kilometers of high-grade water networks have been built nationwide, and the remaining construction task of about 7000 kilometers will be completed in the next 10 years.

Fu Yuanjia believed that during the period from the "15th Five Year Plan" to the "16th Five Year Plan", the state will focus on promoting two major longitudinal core canal projects: first, the Xiang Gui Canal, which will connect the Yangtze River water system with the the Pearl River water system, and realize the connection between the water systems of Hunan and Guangxi; The second is the Gan Yue Canal, which connects the water systems of Jiangxi and Guangdong.

Supply Of Goods

The landing of a new water transportation channel also faces practical challenges: the industrial foundation in the western hinterland of Guangxi is relatively weak, and in the short term, the supply of goods is insufficient to support the transportation volume. Many enterprises rely on road or railway transportation for a long time, and switching to water transportation requires adjusting the already formed transportation mode.

Lei Xiaohua believes that although water transportation is a new mode of transportation for many enterprises, its advantages of low cost and large capacity are extremely attractive. A truck can only carry a few tons of goods, and a single ship can carry up to 5000 tons, with a huge disparity in transportation volume. The real bottleneck of water transportation lies in whether multimodal transport can be efficiently connected. As long as various transportation links are connected, smooth transit is achieved, and a stable and reliable service brand is built, the long-term supply of goods for Pinglu Canal can be guaranteed.

In addition, logistics companies along the canal should actively explore the market. On the one hand, it is necessary to conduct in-depth negotiations with enterprises and customize logistics service plans for them; On the other hand, it is necessary to closely follow the business needs of enterprises, design inbound logistics plans for imported mineral products and other raw materials from overseas, and synchronously plan the outbound transportation path of exported goods. Once a matching service is formed, enterprises will gradually recognize this new waterway channel. Once a stable transportation habit is formed, the source of goods can continue to settle down.

Both experts stated that in the initial stage of the Pinglu Canal's navigation, the bulk goods suitable for water transportation were mainly divided into three categories: the first category was industrial raw materials and industrial processed products, such as various building materials such as steel and aluminum profiles; The second category is chemical products, covering chemical raw materials, potassium fertilizers and other fertilizer products; The third category is related goods in the pulp and paper industry. The paper industry in Guangxi has a strong foundation, with a large amount of pulp imported from overseas for processing in Guangxi, and finished paper then transported outward. These types of materials do not require high transportation efficiency and are suitable for large-scale long-distance transportation, making them the most ideal cargo for inland waterway transportation.

It can be predicted that when goods are exported, they mainly go to two major markets: the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, Hainan and other domestic coastal markets; The second is overseas markets such as Vietnam and the Middle East. In terms of inward input, ASEAN countries are also actively organizing sources of goods and using this channel to enter the Chinese inland market. For example, potassium fertilizer and mineral products from Laos can be transported by land to Yong'an Port in central Vietnam, and then transferred by sea to the Pinglu Canal to reach Guigang in Guangxi. In addition, various types of mineral products, processed goods, and agricultural products are also exploring this import path, first arriving in Guangxi and then distributed to the domestic hinterland.

From the sources of goods participating in the maiden voyage, local enterprises in Guangxi have shown high enthusiasm for participation, and goods have also been sent to Guigang and Nanning ports in Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan and other places.

According to CCTV News, on the first day of navigation on September 16th, Nanning Customs supervised the import and export of 1679.8 tons of goods via the Pinglu Canal, including automotive parts, plywood, Yuan Ming powder, fiberboard, etc.

Of course, a canal cannot naturally drive industrial prosperity. If it only serves as a transportation channel, the canal will only be a transit waterway, making it difficult to drive the landing and agglomeration of industries along the route. At present, there are two perspectives on the development prospects of the Pinglu Canal: pessimistic and optimistic.

Fu Yuanjia believes that the pessimistic view is essentially a concern about falling into the trap of the "channel economy", believing that the canal will face problems such as insufficient supply of goods and weak support for local industries. This belongs to the static approach to the project. If viewed from a dynamic perspective, the development prospects will be significantly different. Firstly, the Pinglu Canal will reshape the cargo flow pattern: in the past, a large amount of goods from Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Xiangxi were transported eastward to the Pearl River Delta for export. In the future, this part of the goods can be transported southward through the Pinglu Canal to connect with ASEAN markets such as Vietnam and Thailand, creating a new increase in freight volume. Secondly, after the formation of low-cost water transportation channels, coupled with the intermodal transportation network of public transportation and iron transportation, it will attract industries to gather along the canal. Guangxi has comparative advantages in resources and land costs. As long as it is equipped with high-quality government services, smooth intermodal connections, and complete port routes and infrastructure, capital will be deployed here.

In Fu Yuanjia's view, the subsequent industrial cultivation and economic belt construction of the Pinglu Canal cannot be achieved solely by Guangxi, without the coordinated deployment of the country and the corresponding support from the eastern region. Assistance cannot only stay at the policy level, but also requires supporting funds and the implementation of major physical projects. From the perspective of a unified national strategy, industries from both the east and north can be deployed in Guangxi, transforming the channel dividends released by the Pinglu Canal into a shared national dividend, rather than limiting this dividend and development responsibility to Guangxi alone.

Differentiation

The Pinglu Canal not only changed the direction of freight flow, but also played a certain role in the division of labor and cooperation in the development of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, the southwestern inland areas, and various regions within Guangxi. The relationship between ports along the Pinglu Canal and ports in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is also undergoing subtle changes.

Fu Yuanjia believes that the synergy effect between the Pinglu Canal and the ports in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is greater than the competitive relationship. In the short term, some of the goods that originally sailed eastward through the the Pearl River water system will turn to the Beibu Gulf port and the flow direction of goods will be adjusted. However, when viewed over a longer period of time, the problem of ship congestion in the Wuzhou and Changzhou hubs is currently prominent, with congestion levels even exceeding those of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River at one point. The Pinglu Canal can share the transportation load of the original waterway.

Secondly, there are more diverse options for shipping goods overseas. Guangxi has two shipping routes, and if the destination of the goods is in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, the original transportation routes are likely to remain unchanged; If the source of supply and target market are oriented towards ASEAN, or located in the western region of Qinzhou, the goods are more suitable to use the Pinglu Canal. The division of labor among various channels will become clearer.

In addition, there are differences in the positioning of ports between the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area and the Beibu Gulf. The positioning of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is an international center for scientific and technological innovation, with a focus on high-end industries, artificial intelligence, and other tracks; Guangxi and western Guangdong will take on more cooperation functions towards ASEAN, and some ASEAN economic and trade businesses previously led by Guangdong will gradually shift to Guangxi in the future. But Guangxi has not completely abandoned the layout of high-end industries, but has placed emphasis on industrial division of labor.

For southwestern provinces such as Yunnan and Guizhou, the most direct benefit brought by the Pinglu Canal is the addition of a lower cost and more efficient alternative sea route. The expansion of logistics channels will also have a chain effect: logistics convenience drives trade growth, trade prosperity attracts industry landing, promotes the expansion of trade between Southwest provinces and ASEAN, and at the same time undertakes foreign investment and industrial transfer.

After the completion of the canal, Yunnan goods can be transported from Funing Port to Pinglu Canal via Youjiang and Baise hubs, directly reaching the Beibu Gulf sea area, becoming the most convenient golden waterway for Yunnan to go out to sea; Goods from Luodian Port in Guizhou can smoothly enter the main canal channel along the Hongshui River, Qianjiang River, and Yujiang River. In the short term, Yunnan and Guizhou are the most directly benefited areas; In the medium to long term, Chongqing and Sichuan will also be deeply integrated into this water transportation system. If the Chongqing Guizhou Guangxi Canal and the Hunan Guangxi Canal are successively implemented in the future, the southwestern and even central and western regions such as Shaanxi will share the benefits of river sea intermodal transportation, and the pattern of southwestern inland going out to sea will be completely opened up.

While reshaping the external regional pattern, the Pinglu Canal will also drive the internal development of Guangxi. Lei Xiaohua proposed that Guangxi can rely on the Canal Economic Belt to build a "leaf vein style" industrial layout, with key cities along the route as the main arteries and gathering leading industries near the port; Taking other cities as branches, supporting the development of midstream and downstream industries, and forming an industrial system with clear priorities and coordinated linkage.

Fu Yuanjia stated that the value of the inland water network in Guangxi has been fully activated, and the water transportation network can almost cover most cities in Guangxi. Even if Guilin and Hezhou are far away from the main waterway, after the completion of the Xianggui Canal in the future, they can still connect to this river sea intermodal transportation system and achieve comprehensive benefits.

From the perspective of beneficiary timing, the five core cities of Nanning, Qinzhou, Guigang, Fangchenggang, and Beihai, with their location and navigation advantages, have been the first to reap the dividends of logistics, trade, and industrial agglomeration, becoming the development core of the Canal Economic Belt. Guigang, as a major inland port, serves as a transit hub, while Beihai and Fangcheng ports rely on their advantages as coastal ports to strengthen their level of openness to the outside world.

On this basis, the dividends will continue to propagate upstream along the waterway, with Baise relying on the Youjiang River, Liuzhou relying on the Liujiang River, and Laibin relying on the Hongshui River to fully connect to the water transportation network. Liuzhou, as an old industrial hub in Guangxi, has the advantage of low-cost shipping of industrial products such as automobiles, intelligent equipment, and new materials through the canal, further amplifying its industrial advantages. The prosperity of inland waterway transportation will drive supporting industries such as shipbuilding, and Wuzhou and Guigang were originally gathering places for the inland waterway shipbuilding industry. The rare metal and metallurgical industry chains in Hechi and Baise, as well as the port related industries such as Nanguo Copper in Baise, will rely on low-cost water transportation to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Overall, the Pinglu Canal has reshaped the industrial development advantages of Guangxi as a whole, but whether the dividends of each region can be fully released ultimately depends on the local supporting policies, industrial measures, and the market development capabilities of logistics enterprises along the route.

(Author Liu Yaning)