An aerial drone photo taken on June 3, 2026 shows water being pumped into the Madao hub on the Pinglu Canal in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo by Zhao Zhenyu/Xinhua)

China officially released the nautical map for the approaches to the country's major river-to-sea Pinglu Canal on Monday. Meanwhile, aids to navigation along the canal's seaward stretch were fully installed the same day, marking that the canal's maritime safety system — from channel marks to chart coverage — is now in place, according to a report by China Central Television (CCTV).

Dubbed a "project of the century," the 134.2-kilometer Pinglu Canal is the backbone of the country's New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a key initiative enhancing global trade connectivity for China's southwestern inland regions. It is also the first canal in China to be planned at the national level since 1949.

The nautical map is an official Pinglu Canal chart published by the China Maritime Safety Administration (MSA). It covers the newly built 22-kilometre coastal section from the Qinjiang Bridge on the G75 Lanhai Expressway, past Longmen Bridge, to the junction with Qinzhou Port, and joins seamlessly with existing Qinzhou Port charts to form a continuous chart series for the Qinzhou harbour area in the Beibu Gulf, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Regarding aids to navigation, the South China Sea Aids to Navigation Center under China's Ministry of Transport has placed 127 marks along the coastal waters of the canal, including lighted buoys, bridge navigation marks, beacons and pipeline marks, to provide ships with precise guidance when passing under bridges, according to the CCTV report. 

The Pinglu Canal, capable of accommodating vessels of up to 5,000 metric tons, is due to open to navigation in September this year, according to a report by the Xinhua News Agency. 

Chea Munyrith, president of Cambodian Chinese Evolution Researchers Association, told the Global Times on Monday that the opening of the Pinglu Canal could be a significant new opportunity to strengthen ASEAN-China connectivity and economic cooperation. 

By linking China's inland regions more efficiently with the sea, the canal can complement existing land, rail, maritime and river transport networks, thereby helping improve logistics efficiency, reduce transportation costs, and facilitate the movement of goods between China and ASEAN markets, he said. 

"The canal could strengthen regional supply chain resilience and create new opportunities in trade, investment, logistics, manufacturing, agriculture and tourism. For ASEAN countries, better connectivity with China means greater access to one of the world's largest markets and more opportunities to participate in regional value chains," Munyrith said, noting that the impact could be more significant over the longer term.

Global Times