China plans to invest 2 trillion yuan in building a national AI computing network over the next five years, with domestic chips accounting for over 80%

Odaily Planet Daily News According to a report by Bloomberg citing informed sources, China is planning to invest approximately 2 trillion yuan (about $295 billion) over the next five years to build a nationwide artificial intelligence data center and unified computing network, aiming to promote the domestic AI industry development and enhance independent computing capabilities.

The report states that the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments are formulating relevant blueprints, planning to build an interconnected national computing hub system, with state-owned enterprises such as China Mobile and China Telecom responsible for operating the main data centers. The plan requires that at least 80% of key technologies, including AI chips, use domestic supplier products, including solutions from companies like Huawei, thereby reducing dependence on American manufacturers such as Nvidia and AMD.

This plan is considered one of China's most aggressive AI infrastructure construction actions to date and is an important part of the "Six Networks Construction" strategy proposed this year. According to informed sources, project funding will mainly come from ultra-long-term special government bonds and national strategic industry investment funds, supplemented by bank loans and social capital.

The report points out that China hopes to achieve interconnection of dispersed data center resources nationwide by 2028, promoting large-scale application of AI in fields such as healthcare, transportation, and urban governance. If grid upgrades and communication infrastructure construction are included in the overall plan, the total related investment scale could exceed 5 trillion yuan. (Bloomberg)