India, Sept. 16 -- China has opened a major canal, which aims to act as a "trade shortcut" between its landlocked regions and Southeast Asia. The 134-kilometre Pinglu Canal, opened on Wednesday, took four years to build and cost 72.7 billion yuan.

The key route will link Nanning, in the southern manufacturing region of Guangxi, to the Gulf of Tonkin, which is flanked by China and Vietnam.

State broadcaster CCTV shared footage of the first barge to pass through the canal and aerial video of ships navigating its calm waters, calling the waterway as "the project of our century".

The canal, which comes as China seeks to deepen and strengthen its ties with the Southeast Asian region in the wake of the tensions in West Asia, is the first suc...