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China’s “East Data West” computing project is a significant initiative aimed at enhancing the nation’s computing infrastructure by strategically relocating data processing capabilities from the densely populated eastern regions to the less developed western areas. The project, announced in February 2022, involves the construction of eight national computing hubs and ten national data center clusters. The goal is to boost China’s computing power, doubling it by 2025.
As of now, $6.1 billion has been invested in these efforts, with substantial progress already evident. The project has achieved a total rack size exceeding 1.95 million racks, up from 1.46 million in March 2024, and a utilization rate that has increased to 63%, a 4% improvement since 2022.
One of the project’s key achievements is reducing network latency between eastern and western hub nodes to meet the 20-millisecond requirement, which is crucial for efficient data processing. Additionally, the power utilization efficiency (PUE) of the new data centers is impressively low at 1.04, compared to the global average of around 1.5, indicating a high level of energy efficiency.
This project is part of China’s broader strategy to strengthen its IT infrastructure and computing capacity, especially in light of the ongoing tech competition with the United States. As both nations push for technological dominance, advancements in data centers and network infrastructure are becoming increasingly critical. China’s efforts in this area are also seen as a response to recent U.S. restrictions on tech exports to China and the broader geopolitical competition in the tech space.