How might the Belt and Road Initiative impact China's tolerance of Uighur resistance?

• A. It would decrease repression
• B. It may lead to increased repression to ensure stability
• C. It has no relation
• D. It would lead to more open governance

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how a large economic push like the Belt and Road Initiative interacts with governance and security in a sensitive region. When China undertakes expansive infrastructure, trade, and investment through BRI, the government often treats social stability as essential for projects to proceed smoothly. In Xinjiang, where tensions and counter-movements can threaten construction, logistics, and regional connectivity, authorities tend to emphasize control and security to safeguard investments, routes, and workers.

Because keeping order is seen as a prerequisite for the success of these massive projects, the state may widen its use of repression or coercive measures to deter or quickly quell resistance. This logic explains why increased repression to ensure stability is the most plausible outcome of pursuing BRI in Xinjiang. The other options clash with this pattern: reducing repression would undermine project safety, claiming no relation ignores the clear link between security and project continuity, and more open governance runs counter to the approach typically used to protect large-scale investments and infrastructure in volatile environments.