Data centers in China

Main article: Economy of China

China IT Market

Main article: China IT market

Chronicle

2025: Underwater Data Center Launch

In mid-February 2025, China completed the modernization of the world's first commercial underwater data center (DPC). The facility is located on the seabed in Lingshui in Hainan province in the south of China, and its operator is HiCloud, a division of Highlander. Read more here.

2024

449 data centers

$6.1 billion allocated for construction of 8 data centers to speed up data transfer and develop AI

At the end of August 2024, it became known that China allocated $6.1 billion for a nationwide project to build eight computing centers amid the ongoing technological war between the United States and China over semiconductor and AI technologies. Direct investment by the Chinese government has also spurred more than 200 billion yuan in additional funds, including private capital.

China began implementing the Eastern Data, Western Computing project back in 2022. The government-backed project aims to create a nationwide information technology network where data centers in western China will take on basic computing tasks, offloading centers in more densely populated areas of the east coast.

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Фото: Freepik

As part of the project, it is planned to build eight computing centers in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta region, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau region, Guizhou province, Chengdu-Chongqing district, Gansu province, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. It is known that the total capacity of computing hubs is 1.95 million server racks, and about 1.2 million racks have already been mounted.

Huawei Technologies is one of the largest Chinese companies involved in this colossal project. Huawei operates Ascend AI chip-based computing clusters in 19 cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. The company also plans to launch new clusters in major cities in the provincial part of China.

Another project participant, Nvidia, said data center revenue grew 154% year-on-year to $26.4 billion in 2024. Despite the tightening of US sanctions, the company was able to get good revenue and intends to invest in the development of new infrastructure within the country.^[1]

2023: China releases roadmap for computing infrastructure development

On October 8, 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Informatization China (MIIT) unveiled a roadmap for the development of computing infrastructure in the country. The initiative, among other things, provides for an increase in the computing power of the PRC by more than one and a half times by 2025. In addition, it is planned to increase resources for. data storage

The Central Commission for Affairs cyber security and Information Technology, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA the Ministry, the formations National Commission, the health care People's Bank of China, as well as the Commission for Supervision and Asset Management took part state in the development of the document. The project is designed to ensure the development of the Chinese IT industry in the context of sanctions from the outside USA and a difficult macroeconomic situation.

The Ministry of Industry and Informatization of China (MIIT) has unveiled a roadmap for the development of computing infrastructure in the country

According to the published data, China's computing capacity in 2023 reached 197 Eflops, compared with 180 Eflops in 2022. By 2025, this figure is planned to be increased to 300 Eflops, that is, to increase by about 52% (compared to the value recorded at the beginning of October 2023). In addition, by 2025, China intends to increase the total storage capacity of information to 1800 Ebait, of which 30% will be for "advanced systems." It is said about the development and implementation of new storage technologies, including those based on flash memory.

Until 2025, it is planned to create about 20 new data centers in the PRC. In order to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, such data centers are supposed to use more efficient computing and network equipment. In parallel, optical systems for high-speed data transmission will be developed. In general, the project aims to meet the computing needs of various industries, including manufacturing, education, finance, transportation, healthcare and power.^[2]

2022: There are 6.5 million racks in Chinese data centers

The total number of racks in Chinese data centers (data centers) reached 6.5 million by the end of 2022. The growth of the market in question is due to the rapid introduction of artificial intelligence, the expansion of the cloud services ecosystem and the development of the digital economy. This is stated in the materials with which TAdviser got acquainted at the end of October 2024.

China is actively developing the infrastructure of data centers. As of 2022, the combined computational performance of Chinese data centers was about 180 Eflops. In 2023, this figure increased to 197 Eflops, and in 2025, it is expected to rise to 300 Eflops. The PRC plans to create 10 national clusters of data centers, on the basis of which resource-intensive projects will be implemented in various fields, including in the field of AI.

A large-scale initiative to increase computing resources also provides for the creation of a national storage of 1800 Ebait, of which 30% will be for "advanced storage" information. It is planned to use various technologies for different tasks. In particular, we are talking about high-performance flash memory solutions, as well as Blu-ray-based arrays for recording "cold" data.

China intends to use the computing power of the data center in key industries. Among them are education, health care, transport, the energy sector, the financial sector and production. The authorities also expect to accelerate the deployment of peripheral data centers to improve the efficiency of enterprises and improve logistics. Alibaba Group Holding, Baidu, Beijing Sinnet Technology Co., China Mobile, China Unicom, CICC Data Group Co., Shanghai Dataport Co. and others are named among the key players in the local market.^[3]

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