Can the new Pinglu Canal become China’s Yangtze of the southwest?

The opening of China’s first new river-to-sea canal since 1949 – which will boost trade links with Southeast Asia – could transform the economy of the country’s landlocked southwestern interior in ways comparable to the Yangtze’s role in Shanghai’s rise, according to its operator.

The 134.2km (83.4 mile) Pinglu Canal, which opened on Wednesday , links a major tributary of the Pearl River in the southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region with the Gulf of Tonkin, known as the Beibu Gulf in China, serving as a short cut for cargo moving between western China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

The project was prioritised to ease severe congestion at traditional logistics hubs and additional projects were already under way to maximise the waterway’s economic potential, the operator said.