China Plans Major Highway And Rail Expansion Near India Border Under New Five-Year Plan
China is preparing to expand its strategic transport infrastructure across remote frontier regions near India as part of its upcoming national development blueprint, a move likely to draw attention in New Delhi given the sensitive geography involved.
According to a South China Morning Post report, the plan forms part of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, which begins this year and outlines Beijing’s economic and infrastructure priorities through the end of the decade.
The blueprint has been submitted to the National People’s Congress for approval after receiving backing from the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
One of the key projects proposed in the plan is a 394 km highway in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region that will link the northern and southern sides of the rugged Tianshan Mountains.
The route will run parallel to a strategic road passing through the disputed Aksai Chin area, which gained prominence after the Sino‑Indian War of 1962.
Construction has already begun on another major project under the plan, the Dushanzi-Kuqa Highway in central Xinjiang, work that started in September and is expected to be completed by 2032.
In addition, authorities are planning upgrades to three major highways that connect China’s interior regions with Tibet.
The infrastructure push is unfolding alongside broader investments aimed at boosting China’s slowing economy. The new development plan places strong emphasis on emerging industries including artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and battery manufacturing.
China has also been expanding transport networks close to the disputed frontier with India. In August last year, Beijing established the Xinjiang‑Tibet‑Railway Company to oversee the construction of a 1,980 km railway connecting Lhasa with Hotan.
The route runs across the Karakoram plateau and passes near the sensitive Galwan Valley, where clashes between Indian and Chinese troops occurred in 2020.
China has simultaneously pursued other large-scale projects in border regions, including the construction of a massive dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, a project that has raised concerns in downstream countries such as India and Bangladesh.
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