China AI data centres push into rural west

China is expanding AI data centres in rural western areas such as Guizhou province, using less populated regions to host digital infrastructure needed for computing demand from the country's eastern seaboard.

Huawei's largest data centre is in Guian New Area, where a town-like complex of European-style buildings houses computing facilities. Dozens of data centres have been built in Guizhou in recent years under a government strategy named “Eastern Data Western Computing.”

AFP reported that China is on course to nearly double its data centre capacity within the next five years as countries race to secure the computing power needed for AI development.

The strategy uses regions with cooler climates, available land and renewable energy resources. China has demanded that data centres draw 80 percent of their power from renewable sources by the end of this decade.

Simeng Deng, a senior analyst at Rystad Energy, said data centres could absorb surplus renewable power generation in places such as Guizhou and Inner Mongolia.

Some residents described local benefits. Shopkeeper Shu Peihua said transport had improved, trade had picked up and business opportunities had emerged. Li Xixiu said villagers in the area could now find jobs nearby rather than leaving for work elsewhere.

Researchers questioned the broader gains. Andrew Stokols of Singapore Management University said immediate benefits from data centres have been elusive in China and elsewhere. Researchers Cartus Bo-Xiang You and Angela Glowacki of the Taiwan-based Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology said Guizhou's data centre investment had a limited effect on local per capita income.

The institute said Guizhou averaged annual GDP growth of 7.4 percent over the past decade, but its wage growth over the same period was second to last nationwide. It also said Guizhou ranked near the bottom among Chinese provinces in 2024 on debt-to-revenue and debt-to-GDP measures.