China's massive computing power building to create opportunity for private investment

China's national initiative to develop computing power networks will create a great opportunity for private investment, said industry insiders.

China's computing power networks are expected to receive 4 trillion yuan (about 595.2 billion U.S. dollars) in new direct investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), according to the country's top economic planner.

As computing power development relies mainly on enterprise investment, such development will create enormous room for private investment, said the National Development and Reform Commission

"It is initiated by the government, which at least sends a signal that it is a definite arena, so private capital is willing to enter this field despite its high technical barriers," said Liu Yi, senior vice president of the Isoftstone Information Technology.

Chinese internet giants are racing to build AI computing centers. Tencent's Q2 capital expenditure hit 52.8 billion yuan, up 176 percent year on year, largely going to data centers, GPU servers, and AI clusters. Industry experts say flagship AI models are now being upgraded monthly, or even weekly, highlighting the breakneck pace of China's AI race.

"Back in the second half of last year, people were generally hoping to iterate on models every three months. Now, a new model is being released every four to six weeks, and that in itself poses a considerable challenge in terms of computing power," said Feng Wen, head of open platform of the MiniMax.

"Participating in the construction of the national 'Six Networks' initiative is also an opportunity for enterprises," said Liu Feng, general manager of the Smart Industries Group under the Tencent.

China is mulling massive investment in a "Six Networks" initiative as the country works to expand domestic demand and stabilize economic growth.

These six networks comprise water networks, new-type power grids, computing power networks, next-generation communication networks, urban underground pipeline networks and logistics networks. "I think we should not have the mindset of short-term gains or the monetization of resources. Instead, we should have the mindset of promoting the long-term progress and the closed-loop development of the industry. We should build and plan these resources with the ultimate goal in mind," said Sun Chuqian, head of strategic development with Qinneng Technology.

"Throughout the entire 15th Five-Year Plan period, for intelligence computing centers, whether they are token factories, medium-sized or ultra-large-scale facilities, or even gigawatt-level ones, there will be a period of rapid growth," said Zhang Chen, deputy general manager of the Market Development Division under the China Power Engineering Consulting Group.

China's massive computing power building to create opportunity for private investment

Prolonged heat and low rainfall have caused water levels on the Danube River in Bulgaria to drop sharply since early summer, leaving most sections unnavigable by late August and forcing many farmers to struggle to get their grain to market.

Zarko Ivanov, a grain producer from northwestern Bulgaria, said his wheat harvest was good this year, but he was unable to ship it because vessels could not navigate the Danube River.

"The Danube River is normally our main route for transporting grain. This year, because ships cannot travel on the river, we have to use trucks. But trucking is too expensive. So even though we had a good harvest, we lost money," said Ivanov.

"This year's weather has been too dry. Both our spring and autumn harvests were good, but we couldn't transport them. We don't know whether the weather will get better after summer," said Ivan Parvanov, another grain producer from northwestern Bulgaria.

Grain exports are an important part of Bulgaria's foreign trade. The country's wheat, corn and sunflower seeds are sold in large quantities to Greece, Germany and Nordic countries.

In 2025, Bulgaria's agricultural exports exceeded 7 billion euros (about 8.2 billion U.S. dollars). Most of Bulgaria's grain-producing areas are in the north and west, while its main export ports are on the Black Sea coast in the south. In previous years, most grain from production areas to ports was transported via the Danube, but this year the vital artery has been blocked by drought.

With the sunflower seed harvest approaching in autumn, Ivanov is becoming even more anxious.

"In all my years of farming, this is the first time I have had a good harvest but could not move it. Now I am losing money by using trucks just to empty the warehouse, because the sunflower seeds will be harvested soon," said Ivanov.

Drought halts Danube River shipping, stranding Bulgarian grain