Japanese Media: China Maps the Future of Artificial Intelligence with the "Eastern Data, Western Computing" Initiative

According to a report by Bloomberg (Japan) on September 10, in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, surrounded by lush grasslands, the city seems far removed from a tech hub.

Yet this city in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, with a population nearing 2 million, stands at the forefront of China's national strategy to shift computing power from densely populated eastern urban areas to the western regions.

In 2022, China launched the "Eastern Data, Western Computing" initiative—transferring data demands from the east to be processed by data centers in the west—connecting vast western territories and abundant, low-cost green energy with concentrated computing networks in eastern cities.

New construction sites for data centers in Ulanqab lie about 350 kilometers northwest of Beijing. Workers wear helmets and fluorescent vests, with hundreds of laborers in work uniforms daily.

A new research report released by BloombergNEF on August 8 reveals that over half of China’s current domestic data center planning is concentrated in northern and northwestern regions, including Inner Mongolia. According to BloombergNEF’s analysis, by 2028, this region is expected to surpass major metropolitan areas like Beijing and Shanghai as China’s largest source of computing power. Chinese AI companies are rapidly building large-scale data centers exceeding 1 gigawatt in capacity across this region to establish the infrastructure essential for advancing artificial intelligence.

BloombergNEF analysts noted in a report that northern and northwestern China are gradually becoming growth hubs. In these areas, low electricity prices, cool climates, and ample land have attracted developers. Computation-intensive tasks that are less sensitive to transmission latency—such as those requiring high power consumption—are increasingly moving away from traditional computing centers.

The actual computing equipment capacity running in China’s data centers will more than double within the next five years. By 2030, total electricity demand is projected to reach 329 terawatt-hours—a 151% increase—accounting for 2.4% of China’s total power generation. The Yangtze River Delta currently leads in BloombergNEF’s competitiveness rankings, considering factors such as connectivity, land-use permits, and energy supply.

However, due to high electricity costs and energy consumption, future expansion of data center capacity in the Yangtze River Delta is expected to face constraints. Before the rise of data centers, Ulanqab was primarily a popular weekend getaway destination for residents of Beijing, offering escape from the sweltering summer heat. Activities such as staying in yurts (Mongolian tents), horseback riding, and visiting dormant volcanoes resembling Mars attracted many tourists.

Now, Ulanqab is experiencing a boom in high-tech development. Open fields are piled with aluminum frames, steel bars, and wooden planks. Cranes are ubiquitous, welding sparks fly across construction sites, and workers are building massive structures capable of housing far more powerful computing capabilities.

The “Chahar High-Tech Development Zone” features wide avenues named after global tech giants like Apple and Huawei, clearly reflecting their ambitious vision. Inner Mongolia is just one of eight designated national computing center regions in China. Others include coastal areas near Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou; central regions around Chengdu and Chongqing; southwestern Guizhou Province; and northwestern Gansu Province and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

In a sense, this also represents an attempt at spatial optimization. Under China’s plan, eastern cities will handle computing needs that cannot tolerate transmission delays—such as autonomous driving. Meanwhile, remote-processing tasks like cloud storage and AI model training will be shifted to the northwest. This initiative also aims to address the growing burden on power supply.

In certain parts of China, local power generation capacity has become a bottleneck, and the time required to build transmission infrastructure often exceeds the time needed to construct the data centers themselves. However, in the sun-drenched, wind-rich western regions of China, there is an abundance of cheap renewable energy, resulting in surplus electricity. This excess can then be supplied to servers and other energy-intensive equipment.

Hubs not only receive priority in investment and digital infrastructure projects but also set strict targets regarding facility utilization, energy efficiency, and clean energy use. New data centers established in the region must rely on more than 80% renewable energy. By 2030, northern and northwestern China could account for one-third of the nation’s total data center operating capacity—but they still face competition from other domestic cities that, despite limited energy resources, offer superior data connectivity.

At the same time, China is currently planning to restrict speculative or redundant investments through state-approved projects, aiming to promote the development of large-scale initiatives.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1875914188942336/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.