As the war in Iran disrupts global oil and chemical supplies, China’s coal-heavy energy sector is seizing an unprecedented opportunity. Dannie Peng visits the Changji Hui autonomous prefecture in Xinjiang – one of the country’s four major bases for large-scale, modern coal-chemical production – to see first-hand how a vast industrial ecosystem is rapidly taking shape on the ground.

A four-hour drive northeast of Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, leads to a colossal open-pit mine. There, a fleet of electric, autonomous mining trucks moves with silent, clockwork precision, self-navigating the terrain and hauling mountains of overburden to distant stockpiles.

This is one scene in a larger transformation unfolding across the Gobi Desert. In China’s far west, futuristic and green technologies are modernising coal mining and maximising the resource’s potential through chemical processing.

The scale of the infrastructure is immense. The world’s highest-voltage power line already carries electricity from the region to eastern China, while work is under way on the country’s biggest pipeline to transport coal-derived natural gas from northern Xinjiang to developed eastern cities.

The Zhundong National Economic and Technological Development Zone sits upon coal reserves that – by weight – far surpass the oil riches of the Persian Gulf. A giant national energy and chemical hub is rapidly taking shape.

The zone, situated on the southeastern edge of the Junggar Basin in Xinjiang’s Changji Hui autonomous prefecture, is a gargantuan undertaking. Spanning three counties and covering a planned 15,500 sq km (5,984 square miles), the zone stretches 220km (137 miles) from east to west, carving a massive industrial footprint into the arid landscape.

Comprising five mining areas, it houses China’s biggest contiguous coalfield. With estimated reserves of 390 billion tonnes – accounting for 7 per cent of the national total – it is frequently cited as being capable of sustaining China’s immense energy appetite for a century.