A new skyline of data centres is rising from the rolling plains of rural China

China is rapidly building massive data centres in rural Inner Mongolia to power its AI development, viewing this computing infrastructure as critical for economic and national security as it competes with the US in AI capabilities. The construction effort, combined with China's strategy of developing affordable, open-source AI models (software whose underlying code is publicly available and can be modified by anyone) and recruiting talented engineers back from the US, reflects Beijing's commitment to embedding AI across 90% of industries by 2030. Meanwhile, the US remains concerned about China's AI advancement and is maintaining restrictions on selling advanced chips to China, while China advocates for greater international regulation and a global framework to govern AI development.