ABSTRACT
Foreign policy initiatives frequently have domestic interests at their core and China’s BRI is no different. Central to understanding the logic of the SREB and the CPEC are China’s underdeveloped western regions, neglected and fast outpaced by the development of China’s coastal cities in the east. In some specific regions, such as the XUAR, this disparity has played out against an already tense ethnic balance and led to instability and violence against Chinese citizens and the state. This violence and instability is something that directly challenges the authority of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), bringing into question its ability to govern and rule the entire country as a unified whole. While China’s is an authoritarian government, the CCP can only maintain its grip on power as long as it is able to effectively dominate, and demonstrate its authority over, the entire country. Consequently, stability and prosperity across the whole of China become central issues for Zhongnanhai to focus on.
