China accelerates building of national computing power network

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠China is accelerating the building of a nationally unified integrated computing power network by advancing the construction and layout of computing power centers and enhancing the availability and efficiency of intelligent computing resources, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).   Official data indicate that China's computing power infrastructure is continuously improving, with over 12.5 million standard racks currently in operation across computing hubs nationwide.   "We will make concerted efforts to deploy intelligent computing facilities, accelerate the building of a nationally unified integral computing power network, deepen the deployment and application of artificial intelligence in information and communication networks, and enhance the information and communication industry's capability to support, apply and integrate AI," said Zhang Yunming, vice minister of the MIIT, at a report conference.   The MIIT has proposed the construction of a platform system that enables standardized interconnection of public computing power resources across various entities and architectures, according to an action plan on computing power interconnection released by the ministry recently.   "By 2025, the overall system will have gone through the trial and verification phase, and standardized interfaces and protocols such as the computing power identification gateway, the high-performance transmission protocol and heterogeneous computing API (application programming interface) will be able to achieve interconnection and availability of standardized public computing power during the trial phase. By 2028, a computing power internet with intelligent sensing, real-time discovery and on-demand access capabilities will have formed," said Li Wei, deputy head of the Institute of Computing Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences.   国际数据公司预计，中国智能算力规模仍将保持高速增长，2025年将较2024年增长43%，2026年中国智能算力规模将达到2024年的两倍。 China's intelligent computing power is expected to grow rapidly, increasing by 43 percent in 2025 and expected to double in 2026  compared to 2024, according to predictions from International Data Corporation.

China accelerates building of national computing power network

China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, reached 2.5141 trillion kilowatt-hours in the first quarter of 2026, up 5.2 percent year on year, according to data released by the National Energy Administration on Monday.

A breakdown of the data shows robust growth across various sectors, as the country's economy got off to a good start in the first quarter with new growth drivers.

From January to March, China's primary industry saw an increase of 7.1 percent in power consumption, bringing total power used to 33.6 billion kilowatt-hours. The secondary industry consumed nearly 1.6 trillion kilowatt-hours, up 4.7 percent from a year ago. Within this sector, the high-tech and equipment manufacturing industry posted particularly strong growth, with electricity consumption increasing 8.6 percent year on year.

The tertiary industry recorded 8.1-percent growth in power use, totaling 483.3 billion kilowatt-hours. Notably, the battery charging and swapping service sector consumed 37.6 billion kilowatt-hours, surging 53.8 percent, while the internet data service sector used 22.9 billion kilowatt-hours, up 44 percent. The power consumption of urban and rural residents was 398.5 billion kilowatt-hours, increasing by 3.4 percent year on year.

In March alone, electricity consumption reached 859.5 billion kilowatt-hours, up 3.5 percent year on year.

China's economy grew five percent in the first quarter, outpacing expectations of some overseas institutions and reinforcing the country's role as a stabilizing force in an increasingly volatile global economy.

China's power use up 5.2 percent in Q1