Pouring money into Xinjiang infrastructure won't solve problems, experts warn

Xinjiang began testing the region's first high-speed railway this month - a project officials hope will deepen business and cultural links with neighbouring areas.

But critics say there is no guarantee infrastructure spending will resolve claims that Uygurs suffer job discrimination.

The 1,776km high-speed line - known as the Lanxin Railway - links the Xinjiang capital, Urumqi , with Lanzhou in Gansu province and cuts travel time between the cities from 21 hours to about eight hours. Officials hope commercial operations can begin this year.

Erkin Tuniyaz, vice-chairman of the regional government, said the line, one of 10 railway projects either under construction or planned in the region, would strengthen Xinjiang's role as the "transport hub along the Silk Road economic belt". "It will also have far-reaching influence on the opening up towards the west and the long-term peace and order of Xinjiang," he said.

The new projects will extend the region's railway network by 18 per cent, to 5,800km, according to official projections.

Resource-rich and strategically located on the borders of Central Asia, Xinjiang is key to China's growing energy needs. But a lack of infrastructure has limited development, said Lai Xin, a senior official with the region's development and reform commission.