As one of the poorest regions in China, how did Xinjiang become of great importance in Central Asia?

Despite the obvious wealth disparity between Xinjiang and other Chinese provinces, Xinjiang remains as one of the wealthiest regions in the entire Central Asia and is expected to continue to flourish in the coming years. One of Xinjiang’s advantages lies in its comparatively lower operational costs than those in China’s traditional manufacturing hubs. Furthermore, infrastructure such as railways and airports have been of great help in connecting Xinjiang with the rest of the Central Asian region and have made trading with these nations and even European nations feasible.