At the same time, petroleum exploration has had social consequences. Han migration and Xinjiang s geo-economic importance have increased the already fragile ties between Han and the other ethnic groups living in Xinjiang. In seeking to secure additional energy sources, China has also aggressively sought to participate in the development of Kazakhstan s oil fields. Chinese officials have signed ambitious letters of intent for investment, and plans for a major pipeline to ship that oil to China had been formulated. However, the projected high costs of the projects have delayed actual development, and doubts are growing about whether any of these plans will come to fruition.
China needs to develop secure petroleum reserves.
Xinjiang is the last major on-shore location with promising geological formations. In turn, this has further heightened ethnic tensions, as Han seem to be the beneficiaries of at least the short-term prospecting boom. These tensions have led to heightened religious identification on the part of some ethnic minorities in China, in particular Uyghurs. They have looked for assistance from Uyghurs located outside of China. Given the rough, barren nature of China s borders with Central Asia, it is possible for arms and other forms of military aid to be smuggled across the border.