Asean firms hope China's first river-to-sea canal open market but fear flood of imports
NANNING — Asean firms hope China's first river-to-sea canal will open market but fear flood of imports
Southeast Asian firms are optimistic about China's first river-to-sea canal, the Pinglu Canal, after its recent opening, anticipating it will open markets but also fear a flood of imports. The 134.2-kilometer canal, costing an estimated US$10.8 billion, connects inland rivers in southwestern China to the Beibu Gulf, a significant logistics improvement for companies like Vietnamese coffee chain Trung Nguyen Legend.
By providing a direct transit route for coffee beans from Vietnam to Nanning and other inland Chinese hubs, the canal promises to eliminate bottlenecks and reduce transportation costs. However, concerns have arisen regarding the potential for increased trade imbalance, as the canal may encourage more Chinese exports than imports from Southeast Asia.
Despite this, trade officials and analysts stress the need for Asean to leverage the canal's potential benefits, ensuring a two-way trade flow that benefits both regions.
Written by urgent.news from Bangkok Post Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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