China’s most controversial region has become a showcase for its commercial ambitions

Yet a visit by The Wall Street Journal showed leader Xi Jinping is plowing ahead in transforming Xinjiang, despite international condemnation. In Kashgar, a historic Silk Road trading post, shopping malls were jammed with Chinese shoppers and Western brands, including Under Armour and Dairy Queen. Range Rovers cruised the city’s streets. Exports of local products, from walnuts to heavy-duty trucks, have surged, thanks in part to rising demand in Russia and Central Asia. State-backed companies are flooding the region with cash, building solar farms and data centers. Officials are racing to invest billions of dollars to turn Xinjiang into a…