At the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in late September, an Indonesian student studying in China paused in front of a display showcasing the Pinglu Canal.

For most visitors, the canal was a 134.2-kilometer infrastructure project designed to connect the Xijiang River with the Beibu Gulf. But for Alvin Candra Andrianto, the Indonesian student studying the exhibition panel, its significance extended far beyond engineering figures, transport hubs, and waterways.

He told Chinese media that the project immediately reminded him of his home country, an archipelago of thousands of islands where maritime transportation serves as a vital lifeline, moving goods and connecting communities.

Andrianto recognized the Pinglu Canal's broader significance: a major infrastructure project designed to overcome geographical barriers, speed up the movement of goods, reduce business costs, and strengthen regional cooperation.

He expressed hope that the canal would further improve logistics connectivity between China and Indonesia, helping lower the cost of bilateral trade.

Indonesian scholar Humprey Arnaldo Russel, head of the ASEAN-China Research Cluster at the Department of Global Studies, Graduate School of Sustainable Development, Universitas Indonesia, also highlighted growing interest in the project among his students.

Having grown up in an archipelagic nation where maritime transport is essential to everyday life, these young Indonesians bring a practical perspective to the discussion.

They see the canal as a potential means of facilitating trade and reducing transportation costs, while also considering how improved connectivity could help Indonesian products gain greater access to the Chinese market.

After all, infrastructure development is about more than excavating waterways and constructing ports. At its core, connectivity creates new opportunities for economic growth and cooperation.

Without the Pinglu Canal, goods originating in Southwest China's inland regions and destined for Indonesia have traditionally traveled eastward along the Xijiang River before taking a lengthy detour through the Pearl River Delta.

The canal is expected to shorten that inland shipping route by more than 560 kilometers, reducing transit times and transportation costs.

But what does saving hundreds of kilometers on a shipping route actually mean for businesses and consumers?

Consider frozen durian exports from Indonesia to Southwest China.

For Chinese consumers, Indonesian durian offers a distinctive tropical delicacy. Yet behind every shipment lies a complex cross-border cold chain in which transportation efficiency is crucial.

Harvested on plantations in Sumatra or Java, the fruit is processed, frozen, packaged, and shipped to China before eventually reaching consumers.

Although freezing helps preserve the fruit, prolonged transportation still increases refrigeration, storage, and handling costs while raising the risk of disruptions to product quality.

Shorter and more efficient shipping routes could therefore offer meaningful benefits to businesses involved in temperature-controlled food exports.

According to official estimates, the Pinglu Canal will allow goods from Southwest China to reach Qinzhou Port on the Beibu Gulf more directly, providing a shorter maritime connection to Indonesia and other ASEAN markets.

The project is expected to reduce logistics costs by 18% to 30% on relevant transport routes, potentially generating annual transportation savings exceeding 5 billion yuan (approximately $740 million).

Goods entering China from ASEAN countries could also benefit from improved logistics efficiency.

International economic relations are often discussed in broad terms, including bilateral trade volumes, investment flows, and strategic partnerships.

For small and medium-sized businesses, however, the practical value of cross-border cooperation often begins with something much simpler: the cost of shipping a product.

One of the Pinglu Canal's most important potential contributions is its ability to translate ambitious regional connectivity plans into measurable economic benefits for individual enterprises.

The Guangxi Jingui Pulp & Paper project in Qinzhou, backed by Indonesia's Asia Pulp & Paper Group, offers an example of how businesses could benefit from more efficient transport links.

The company imports wood chips and pulp from Indonesia for use as raw materials, while exporting finished paper products to Indonesia and other ASEAN markets.

More direct shipping connections through the Pinglu Canal could reduce transportation costs in both directions, improving the efficiency of the company's regional supply chain.

Such commercial applications could also help address questions about whether the canal will deliver the economic benefits anticipated by its developers.

Returning to the image of the young Indonesian student studying the exhibition display, the Pinglu Canal represents more than a major engineering undertaking.

It illustrates how infrastructure development can bring the economic interests of China and ASEAN countries closer together.

As a key component of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, the canal is intended not only to connect inland waterways with the sea but also to create new opportunities for trade, investment, and industrial cooperation between Southwest China, Indonesia, and the wider ASEAN region.

Lower transportation costs and improved market access could encourage more small and medium-sized businesses to participate in cross-border trade.

The partnership between China and Indonesia, as well as China and ASEAN, will evolve into a deeper, long-standing pattern of industrial symbiosis through repeated voyages of cargo ships traveling back and forth for mutual benefit.

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Su Yaxuan is a commentator for the Global Times, a leading English-language newspaper in China. The views expressed in this article are those of the author.
 

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