China's ambitious Pinglu Canal project, connecting its interior to the Hainan free-trade port, is nearing completion and expected to begin trial operations earlier than anticipated. The canal is described as the country's most significant waterway project in centuries.

China’s landmark Pinglu Canal has entered its final phase of construction and is set to begin trial operations as early as September, with a first shipping route linking the country’s heartlands to the free-trade port of Hainan, according to Chinese state media reports. The Pinglu Canal – China’s most ambitious waterway project in centuries – will stretch 134km (83 miles) from Nanning, capital of the southern Guangxi region, to the Gulf of Tonkin, known as the Beibu Gulf in China. The aim is to....