China Reportedly Drafts $295 Billion to Build National AI Data Center Grid, Targeting 80% Homemade Content

According to reports by foreign media citing informed sources, China is planning to invest approximately 2 trillion yuan ($295 billion)  over the next five years to build a nationwide artificial intelligence data center network. The plan aims for at least 80% of the underlying technology, including AI chips, to come from domestic suppliers such as Huawei. The National Development and Reform Commission is responsible for planning the network, while two state-owned operators, China Mobile and China Telecom, will operate most of the facilities. They plan to connect all nodes into a unified computing grid by 2028. If power grid upgrades are also included, the total investment could exceed 5 trillion yuan. It should be noted that the number of chips available in the Chinese market will be constrained by SMIC's actual production capacity, and the production capacity of Huawei's Ascend series accelerators is constrained by the highly limited supply of domestic HBM.