In autumn, at the Chishuiwei operation area wharf of Wuzhou Port in Guangxi, ceramic tiles and electronic components from Cenxi City are stacked in the yard, freight vehicles shuttle back and forth, and cranes hoist containers onto ships. These goods are transshipped and shipped out via Wuzhou Port, serving as a microcosm of Cenxi's export-oriented industries expanding into overseas markets.

In recent years, Cenxi City has focused on building three 10-billion-yuan industrial clusters in stone building materials, rare earth new materials, and textile and garment. In 2025, the city's total foreign trade import and export reached 463 million yuan (RMB, same below), with export products sold to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the United States. After the Pinglu Canal opens to navigation, it will bring new opportunities for Cenxi's bulk building materials, rare earth processed products, textiles and garments and other export-oriented products, including lower logistics costs, shorter transportation cycles, and expanded ASEAN markets.

At the Cenxi City Guiyi Town production base of Wuzhou Huajing Electronics Co., Ltd., multiple intelligent production lines are running at full capacity to fulfill orders, with workers skillfully operating equipment, carefully inspecting product quality, and racing to meet production schedules. The company has continued to expand production this year, setting up 19 branch offices in Cenxi, with some branches achieving full-load production after the Spring Festival this year, and overseas supporting orders growing steadily. Wang Yiliang, head of Wuzhou Huajing Electronics Co., Ltd., said that the opening of the Pinglu Canal brings benefits for the company's connection to the ASEAN market. Many of the company's electronic components serve the Southeast Asian supporting supply chain. In the past, they had to detour eastward to Pearl River Delta ports, involving multiple transshipments and heavy logistics pressure; now, connecting through the West River to the Pinglu Canal directly to Beibu Gulf Port, logistics costs are expected to decrease and delivery times will improve.

Local officials introduced that after the Pinglu Canal opens to navigation, the West River-Pinglu Canal-Beibu Gulf Port river-sea intermodal route will shorten the inland waterway journey by about 560 kilometers compared with traditional sea routes, and comprehensive logistics costs are expected to drop by 18% to 30%. For products such as electronic components, the "one container to the end" transportation model not only compresses cross-border delivery time but also reduces product damage caused by reloading, enhancing the competitiveness of Wuzhou's electronic parts in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) regional market.

Cenxi's ceramics industry is also optimistic about the development dividends brought by the southbound corridor. In recent years, Guangxi Gaofeng Ceramics Co., Ltd. has continued to advance intelligent technological transformation, ceramic production capacity has been continuously released, product quality has the basic conditions to connect with the Southeast Asian infrastructure market, and the company is planning to rely on the Pinglu Canal to layout overseas business. Ceramics are a bulk industrial product, and high logistics costs have always been a major constraint for enterprises expanding into overseas markets. The new river-sea intermodal corridor creates favorable conditions for local ceramic enterprises to "go global." Wu Wenfang, deputy general manager of Guangxi Gaofeng Ceramics Co., Ltd., said that in the past, the high cost of southbound sea logistics restricted enterprises from exploring overseas markets. After the Pinglu Canal opens to navigation, it is expected to significantly reduce sea logistics costs and shorten transportation distance. Next, the company will increase efforts to explore the ASEAN market and promote more Cenxi ceramic products to go abroad.

The Pinglu Canal opens the southbound sea route from the West River, further expanding Wuzhou's water transport opening pattern, and Cenxi's export-oriented industries are ushering in a new development situation. Local enterprises are no longer limited to going east to the sea; they can leverage their industrial advantages, actively connect with ASEAN and other overseas markets, and tap the potential for foreign trade growth.