3.3 China and Southeast Asia There are many rivers on the Asian continent and historically they have been a vital source of water, trade, and regional power. A few of them have significant freight volumes, including the Yangtze, the Mekong, and the Ganges. This section focuses on the Yangtze, the busiest freight river in the world, and one that has been a primary source of low-cost transportation in China’s industrial heartland; and the Mekong, a busy freight river for Vietnam and Cambodia with heavy influence, investment, and control from China. 3.3.1 Yangtze River The Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang, is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world, at 3,915 miles in length, of which 1,700 miles are navigable.180 The river is entirely contained within China, as seen in Figure 9. The Yangtze watershed gathers in more than 3,600 tributaries and extends over 698,265 square miles in the catchment area.181 The primary navigation channel, which stretches between the cities of Yibin in Sichuan province and Yichang in Hubei province, traverses China’s industrial and agricultural heartland, including the city of Chongqing.
Waterborne Competitiveness
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