资源开采和能源项目推动了这一转型。西藏的雅鲁藏布江水电项目预计到 2035 年将产生超过 60 吉瓦（GW）的电力，是三峡大坝发电容量的三倍。一条耗资 70 亿美元的输电线路将把西藏与广东连接起来。在经济上，这些努力帮助新疆和西藏在 2025 年分别实现了 5.5% 和 7% 的 GDP 增长。然而，Richard Ghiasy 和 Jagannath Panda 认为，这些开发项目开采了包括铜、锂和稀土在内的当地资源，同时使原住民流离失所，将该地区视为资源边疆，而非生态宝库。
安全和同化仍然是北京战略的核心。Maya Wang 强调，经济推动与潜在的安全疑虑紧密相关。从 2017 年到 2022 年，基础设施扩建包括数十个军民合用机场，且自 2022 年以来至少有 18 个站点进一步扩建，以提升军事准备。同时，美国根据《维吾尔强迫劳动预防法》进行的制裁导致截至 2025 年 8 月扣押了价值 37 亿美元的 16,755 批货物。然而，北京正在收紧供应链法规以应对国外的尽职调查，而汉族人口目前占新疆人口的 40% 和西藏人口的 10% 以上。
Beijing has launched an investment drive in western China, covering Xinjiang and Tibet, transforming an area of approximately 2.4 million square kilometers (ten times the UK's 242,495 square kilometers). Despite international scrutiny over the detention of 1 million Uyghurs, Lizzi Lee notes the region's role shifted from a "backline" to a "frontline" for global trade. Tourism has surged, with Xinjiang hosting 323 million tourists last year (up from 210 million pre-pandemic) and Tibet welcoming 70 million. By April 2026, at least 163 international hotels operated in Xinjiang, with 40 opening in 2025 and 52 more planned.
Resource extraction and energy projects drive this transformation. The Yarlung Tsangpo hydropower project in Tibet will generate over 60 gigawatts of electricity by 2035, three times the capacity of the Three Gorges Dam. A 7-billion-dollar transmission line will link Tibet to Guangdong. Economically, these efforts helped Xinjiang and Tibet achieve GDP growth of 5.5% and 7% in 2025. However, Richard Ghiasy and Jagannath Panda argue these developments exploit local resources—including copper, lithium, and rare earths—while displacing indigenous communities, treating the region as a resource frontier rather than an ecological treasure.
Security and assimilation remain central to Beijing's strategy. Maya Wang emphasizes that the economic drive is closely tied to underlying security concerns. From 2017 to 2022, infrastructure expansion included dozens of dual-use airports, with at least 18 sites expanding further since 2022. Meanwhile, US sanctions under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act led to the seizure of 16,755 shipments valued at 3.7 billion dollars by August 2025. Nevertheless, Beijing is tightening supply chain regulations to counter foreign due diligence, as Han Chinese comprise 40% of Xinjiang's population and 10% of Tibet's.