The official operation of the Urumqi-Yuli Expressway, one of the core components of Xinjiang's highway network, will serve as a bond connecting northern and southern areas of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China.
After over five years of construction, the Urumqi-Yuli Expressway that traverses the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang opened to traffic on Friday, cutting by half the driving time from the southern to the northern parts of the towering mountains.
Thanks to the opening of the expressway, the travel time from the regional capital of Urumqi, north of the Tianshan Mountains, to Korla, south of the Tianshan Mountains, has been shortened by half, from seven hours to about 3.5 hours.
"The expressway effectively connects the economic arteries between the northern and southern areas of Xinjiang, facilitating a smoother flow of regional resources and closer industrial linkages. It also forms a new pattern of coordinated regional development, ensuring the efficient movement of people, goods, and capital," said Shi Yanchun, deputy director of the transport management division under the Transport Department of Xinjiang.
The operation of the Urumqi-Yuli Expressway has effectively linked the Beijing-Urumqi Expressway, the Lianyungang-Khorgos Expressway, and the Xining-Hetian Expressway, creating a multidimensional transportation network that covers the New Eurasian Land Bridge Economic Corridor and the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor. This development establishes a new transportation pattern that connects Xinjiang with other regions.
"This is of great significance for filling the gaps in the western road network, outlining a beautiful transportation system in China, promoting major initiatives such as the Xinjiang Free Trade Zone and tourism development plan, building a golden channel across the Eurasian continent and a gateway for opening up to the west. It is also significant for supporting the Belt and Road Initiative, promoting regional coordinated development, rural revitalization, and the development strategy of the western grand channel in the new era," said Li Yafei, deputy director of the transportation bureau of Xinjiang.
By the end of 2025, the total mileage of expressways in Xinjiang is expected to reach 237,000 kilometers, achieving complete coverage of expressways in the region.
Operation of Urumqi-Yuli expressway expands road network of China's Xinjiang
Japan's latest record-high defense budget and a broader shift in security policy since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office have sparked alarm, with a Japanese military commentator warning that Tokyo's accelerating militarization deserves close international vigilance.
In an interview with China Media Group, Japanese military commentator Konishi Makoto said the trend signals a dangerous turn that could undermine regional peace.
Japan's draft defense budget was set at a record 9.04 trillion yen (about 58 billion U.S. dollars) for fiscal 2026, local media reported Friday.
The figure exceeds the then record initial budget of 8.7 trillion yen for the current fiscal 2025 starting in April and is in line with Japan's defense buildup plan to allot about 43 trillion yen to defense outlays from fiscal 2023 through 2027.
Konishi pointed out that Japan's moves toward debating nuclear weapons are not impulsive, but the result of long-term planning.
"[The Japanese government] is raising military spending to 2 percent, 2.5 percent, or even 3 percent of GDP. Japan is advancing militarism at an astonishing pace. In the past, Japan clearly rejected nuclear armament, but the logic has now shifted to discussion, then acceptance, and eventually nuclearization. Japan is currently moving along this path," he said.
He warned that policy moves since Takaichi took office have not only heightened regional tensions but could also pushed Japan closer to the front line of conflict, calling for heightened alertness and a strong curb on it.
"I think simply withdrawing the statements or issuing an apology is far from enough. If this process of militarization is not fundamentally stopped, the problem cannot be truly resolved," he said.
Konishi further noted that Japan's rightward shift in recent years is closely tied to a failure to properly reflect on its history of aggression.
"As a Japanese person, I feel deeply ashamed. Historical revisionism is resurfacing. Combined with the policy direction of the Takaichi administration, politicians' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, and the Self-Defense Forces' so-called 'southwestern shift strategy,' it has formed an absurd logic: 'We are victims, so we must avoid failing again.' This way of thinking is spreading in society. The inferiority complex born from defeat is gradually turning into blind confidence, which is a key feature of the current ideological changes in Japan," he said.
Under the defense budget, 100.1 billion yen has been earmarked for building the "Shield" layered coastal defense system, which requires numerous aerial, surface and underwater vehicles, while 1.1 billion yen has been set aside to assess the use of long-endurance drones as a measure against airspace violations, Kyodo News reported.
Meanwhile, an 18.3 trillion yen supplementary budget enacted on Dec. 16 for the current fiscal year included 1.7 trillion yen for security and diplomacy, allowing Japan to bring defense-related spending to its target of 2 percent of gross domestic product within fiscal 2025, two years ahead of the previous schedule, the report said.
Military analyst calls for vigilance against Japan's accelerating militarization
