A canal connecting more than water across borders

Before leaving Malaysia for South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to visit the Pinglu Canal, Yee Min Ng was approached by an elderly reader.

The man's family was from Rongxian county in Guangxi. He had left for Southeast Asia when he was young and had not returned to his hometown for decades.

Holding Ng's hand, he made a simple request: "When you go to Guangxi this time, please take a good look at the canal for me. See what my hometown has become and write about it when you come back."

Ng is deputy editor-in-chief of Malaysia's Kwong Wah Yit Poh, a Chinese-language newspaper founded in 1910. On Sept 4, he joined journalists, experts, scholars and young representatives from China and Southeast Asia at "Dialogue with the World — Chinese and Foreign Youth on Opportunities in the Canal Era", held ahead of the Pinglu Canal's opening to navigation on Sept 16.

Stretching 134.2 kilometers, the waterway is the first canal planned and coordinated at the national level since 1949 to connect a river with the sea. After four years of construction, it provides Southwest China with a shorter route to the sea while strengthening the region's links with ASEAN.

During the event, Ng shared the reader's story, saying it reminded him how connections between people and places can endure across generations.

"For more than a century, our newspaper has served as a kind of letter from home for overseas Chinese," Ng said. "Today, the new canal is creating another bond, bringing China and Southeast Asian countries closer together."

While Ng saw the canal as a new link between regions, Hua Yuhui saw it from a builder's perspective. A young representative of Guangxi Pinglu Canal Construction Co Ltd, under Pinglu Canal Group, Hua said the project embodies both hopes for regional development and opportunities for young people to put their skills to work.

When construction began, he recalled, the site was largely undeveloped. Thousands of workers cut through mountains and built 27 bridges across the canal.

The project also brought together five academician-led teams and carried out 16 major science and technology initiatives in Guangxi.

The canal also challenged some visitors' expectations. For Liao Zhiyou, a reporter with Malaysia's Sin Chew Daily, seeing the canal firsthand challenged her view of it as "just another major water conservancy project in China".

What impressed her most was the canal's water-saving ship locks, which reduce water use by more than 60 percent, as well as its dedicated wildlife crossings, fish passages and biodiversity monitoring sites.

"From the very beginning, planning should consider economic development, technological innovation, environmental protection and people's needs within the same framework," she said.

The canal could also reshape regional trade, Liao said. Malaysia-China trade is often associated with major cities and ports in southern and eastern China, such as Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Once the canal is fully operational, links between Malaysia and China's southwestern regions could become increasingly important.

She pointed to the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park in Guangxi and the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park in Malaysia, saying cooperation could gradually expand beyond the two parks into a cross-border network spanning industry, supply chains and logistics.

The canal prompted reflections beyond Malaysia as well. For Rattiya Reungkajon, a reporter with Thailand's MCOT, the focus was on cross-cultural communication.

After she shared short videos online, friends quickly asked, "Wow, where is this? Can we visit?"

"When young people can see something with their own eyes, it naturally sparks curiosity and encourages them to learn more," she said.

Thai young people are already connected with China in many ways, from Chinese television dramas to Chinese smartphones, she noted. For journalists, she said, the next step is to explain what major projects such as the Pinglu Canal could mean for their lives and futures. She also sees opportunities for Thai products and young people to benefit from the canal.

"Through our stories, images and reporting, I hope Thai young people will see the Pinglu Canal not only as an impressive engineering achievement, but also as a symbol of connectivity, cooperation and new possibilities between Thailand and China," she said.