The China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) is underway in Nanning City, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a key gateway between China and Southeast Asia. This year, that connection has taken on a new dimension: the 134-kilometer Pinglu Canal officially opened to navigation on September 16, creating a more direct route from southwest China to the sea. At CAEXPO, we spoke with representatives from Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore about what the region’s growing physical and digital links, from new trade routes to AI, could mean for agriculture, business and the next generation.