According to a report by China Daily on March 12…
China is accelerating efforts to strengthen its national integrated computing power network, positioning advanced computing infrastructure as a critical driver of its digital economy. Lian Yuming, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and founding president of the Beijing International Institute for Urban Development, emphasized that computing power has become an invisible yet indispensable productive force for the nation’s industrial and economic growth.
Strategic Computing Hubs and the “East Data, West Computing” Plan
During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–25), China established eight national computing hubs covering regions including:
Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei
Yangtze River Delta
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
Chengdu-Chongqing
Inner Mongolia, Guizhou, Gansu, Ningxia
As of June 2025, the total scale of data center racks nationwide reached 10.85 million standard racks, with intelligent computing capacity at 788 EFLOPS, according to the National Data Bureau.
The government has also fostered wide applications of intelligent computing in generative large models, embodied AI, smart cities, and industrial manufacturing. More than 23,000 innovative computing projects have emerged through national competitions, achieving scaled adoption across industry, finance, healthcare, and energy sectors.
Bridging the Supply-Demand Gap
Lian Yuming highlighted structural challenges that could limit the network’s effectiveness:
Supply-demand mismatch – Western regions have excess low-end computing resources, while eastern industrial hubs face shortages of high-end intelligent computing power.
Computing islands – Inconsistent technical standards and fragmented market mechanisms hinder efficient resource allocation.
Network constraints – High latency and transmission costs reduce the effectiveness of western hubs.
Green transformation gap – Data centers remain poorly integrated with renewable energy, limiting sustainability.
These challenges create both operational bottlenecks and investment opportunities for companies offering high-end computing solutions, cloud infrastructure, and green energy integration.
A Four-Pronged Optimization Approach
To overcome these hurdles, Lian proposed a strategic, tiered framework for national computing:
Three-tier architecture: National, regional, and edge computing levels with precise functional layouts.
Unified scheduling mechanism: Efficient resource allocation across regions and hubs.
Technological breakthroughs: Reducing network costs and improving cross-regional connectivity.
Computing-electricity synergy: Integrating green energy to promote sustainable, inclusive growth.
He noted that by 2035, AI’s contribution to China’s GDP could exceed $1.53 trillion, driving a potentially tenfold increase in demand for computing power. These measures aim to ensure balanced, high-quality growth in computing supply, while supporting AI-driven industries nationwide.
Implications for Global Investors and Industry
The ongoing expansion of China’s national computing network signals massive opportunities for technology providers, cloud service companies, and AI infrastructure investors. As the country’s digital economy matures, firms positioned to supply high-end computing, edge computing, and green-powered data centers are likely to benefit from both policy support and market demand.
For foreign investors, this represents a chance to participate in China’s AI ecosystem, from supporting high-performance computing deployment to integrating intelligent infrastructure with real-world applications across manufacturing, smart cities, healthcare, and finance.
Lian Yuming concluded that a strategically optimized computing power network will not only underpin China’s domestic AI ambitions but also enhance the country’s global technological competitiveness, laying the groundwork for sustainable and scalable digital economic growth.