China has launched the Xinjiang-Xizang Railway Co Ltd, tasked with building a major line connecting the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region with Tibet. State media calls it a “significant step” in expanding one of the country’s most advanced transport projects.

The railway will run from Hotan in Xinjiang to Shigatse and Lhasa in Tibet, near the Line of Actual Control with India. Analysts say the project has dual aims: boosting local economies while enhancing Beijing’s ability to quickly move troops and equipment into sensitive border zones.

Experts see the line as part of a larger “connectivity loop” that includes both rail and roads, with $13 billion in registered capital. For Beijing, the project also deepens its long-running push to integrate minority-heavy regions with the Han Chinese heartland through jobs, migration, and surveillance.

China has poured trillions into its western provinces under its “Go West” strategy since 2000, but under Xi Jinping, the focus has shifted toward military readiness and centralised control.

The railway could eventually pass through Aksai Chin, a territory claimed by India but controlled by China. New Delhi has ramped up its own border infrastructure since the deadly 2020 Galwan clash.