On the morning of September 16th, Ding Xuexiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, attended the Pinglu Canal navigation ceremony in Qinzhou, Guangxi.

The navigation ceremony was held at the Ma Dao hub of the Pinglu Canal, and the main responsible comrades of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the Ministry of Transport, as well as representatives of the engineering builders, spoke on site. At 10:25, Ding Xuexiang announced the opening of the Pinglu Canal and the ship sounded its horn and set sail.

Ding Xuexiang, while inspecting the construction of the canal on site, stated that General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the construction of the Pinglu Canal and has issued important instructions and directives multiple times, requiring the construction of the Pinglu Canal with high standards and high quality, and creating high-quality, green, and clean projects. After four years of arduous struggle, the Pinglu Canal has been successfully completed and opened to navigation, carrying the earnest expectations of the Party Central Committee. Thanks to the strong support of all relevant parties and the people, it has gathered the hard work and sweat of the vast number of builders. We should take the completion of the canal as an opportunity to build a high-level international gateway port in the Beibu Gulf, promote the expansion of opening up in the western region, and make greater contributions to the construction of a new development pattern.

Ding Xuexiang also boarded the ship for a cruise to inspect the operation of the canal channel and the protection of the coastal ecological environment. He pointed out that the Pinglu Canal, as a major infrastructure for river rail sea multimodal transportation, is the backbone project of the new western land sea channel. We need to do a good job in operational management, strengthen transportation capacity guarantee and source organization, fully leverage the advantages of land sea coordination and internal and external linkage, and ensure the safe and efficient operation of this golden waterway that connects the river and the sea, achieving an organic unity of economic, social, and ecological benefits.

The Pinglu Canal connects Nanning and Beibu Gulf in Guangxi, strongly supports Guangxi's efforts to strengthen and open up to the sea, and injects new momentum into China and ASEAN's efforts to strengthen connectivity and jointly build the "the Belt and Road" with high quality.Editor/Yang Meiling