China’s core AI industry – which boasts more than 6,200 companies – was valued at nearly $174bn in 2025.
China is planning to spend around $295bn – or 2trn yuan – over the next five years to build data centres across the country, Bloomberg news has reported, citing sources close to the matter.
The build-out could represent China’s most aggressive plan yet to secure the future of its AI industry, the publication reported.
The idea is for a resilient Chinese AI industry with an interconnected data centre network and a reduced reliance on foreign technology from companies such as Nvidia and AMD. China also plans to integrate its power grid with the project, sources added.
The funds set aside for the project, however, pale in comparison to the likes of Meta, which has a planned capital expenditure spend of as much as $145bn for this year alone, or Alphabet, which has set aside up to $190bn. Much of this spending has been earmarked for AI or compute-related investments.
