China Accelerates AI Data Center Build‑out with $295 bn Investment and Undersea Facilities

China announced a five‑year plan to invest roughly $295 billion in a nationwide network of artificial‑intelligence data centers, aiming to narrow the gap with the United States, which operates more than 3,000 facilities. The program, driven by state‑owned enterprises, focuses on the country’s sparsely populated western regions under a policy dubbed “Data east, computing west.”

The initiative includes pioneering undersea data centers that use seawater for cooling and offshore wind power for electricity, cutting energy consumption by up to 22.8% compared with land‑based sites. The first fully renewable‑powered AI data center began operating in Qingdao’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and a second undersea center is slated for offshore Shanghai by May 2026. Project director Pu Ding told China Daily that AI computing demand could increase 500‑fold by 2030, driving the massive infrastructure push.