China Boosts Computing Power Industry for Digital Economy Growth
China’s top industry regulator is set to introduce new policies aimed at promoting the high-quality development of the computing power industry. These policies will give the country an edge in building up its digital economy and inject new vitality into the intelligent transformation of its industries, according to officials and experts.
Computing power, which refers to the ability to process data, plays a crucial role in the digital economy. It encompasses information infrastructure and technologies that support information computing power, data storage, and network capacity.
Wu Hequan, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, highlighted the significance of computing power as the new engine of the digital economy. He believes that China’s overall computing power will surpass that of the United States in less than a year or two, driven by innovation.
Jin Zhuanglong, the Minister of Industry and Information Technology, emphasized that computing power has become a key productivity tool in the digital economy era and is the cornerstone of the digital and intelligent transformation of the entire society. He revealed that China’s total computing power currently stands at 197 EFLOPS (one quintillion floating-point operations per second), placing it second after the US.
China’s computing power industry is expected to witness accelerated growth in the coming years. The demand for higher computing capacity has led to Chinese companies racing to roll out AI services similar to ChatGPT. As a result, there is a need for enhanced computing resources.
In 2022, the scale of China’s core computing power industry reached 1.8 trillion yuan ($247 billion). Calculations by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology demonstrate that every 1 yuan invested in computing power can drive economic growth of 3 to 4 yuan in GDP.
Yu Xiaohui, the head of the academy, highlighted the remarkable growth of China’s computing power industry, averaging nearly 30 percent over the past five years. In the case of AI computing power, the growth has reached 45 percent. Currently, AI computing power accounts for over 25 percent of China’s overall computing power.
Yang Jie, chairman of China Mobile, stressed the significance of building computing power networks as a top priority for future development. The aim is to achieve deep integration of various information technologies and make computing power as common and accessible as water and electricity.
In a recent development, China Mobile and China Electronics Technology Group Corp launched China’s largest quantum computing cloud platform. This move indicates that quantum computing in China is gradually advancing towards practical use. The platform will offer quantum computing cloud services and provide a quantum computing power testing environment, facilitating quantum algorithm experiments and addressing complex computing problems in areas such as AI, biomedicine, intelligent transportation, and aerospace.
Liu Jun, president of Lenovo China, highlighted the rapid formation of an independent AI ecosystem in China and its potential application across various industry scenarios in the future.
China’s efforts to boost the computing power industry align with its aim to foster a robust digital economy. The focus on independent innovation capabilities in computing algorithms and key chip products strengthens China’s position as a global leader in the field. The country’s investments in computing power are expected to drive sustainable economic growth and technological advancements, further solidifying China’s position as a digital powerhouse.
