China is the world’s 2nd in the computing power scale, with its big data sector estimated to reach more than RMB 3 trillion ($ 447.3 billion) by 2025, reported by Yicai Global, quoting the vice minister of the Ministry of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT).

China’s total computing power has surpassed 140 exaflops by the end of 2021, with an average annual growth rate of over 30 percent in the past five years. With 19 million data center servers in use in China, the storage capacity reached 800 exabytes, said Zhang Yunming, deputy minister of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), on June 29. 

The big data sector is expected to maintain an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 25 percent during China’s 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), with industry scale to increase from RMB 1.3 trillion to RMB 3 trillion, according to a plan published by the MIIT earlier.

In February, China launched a project to channel more computing resources to the less developed western regions and effectively transfer and share East China’s demand for computing power by building a new computing power network system integrating data center, cloud computing, and big data.

According to the NDRC, 25 new projects with an investment of more than RMB 190 billion (USD28.3 billion) started this year. Once completed, their computing power will reach 13.5 exaflops, equal to the computing power of 27 million personal computers.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, investment in big data centers is expected to grow at an annual clip of more than 20 percent and exceed RMB 3 trillion, as proposed by the NDRC.

Computing power is vital to support the development of the digital economy, and it is the base for industrial development and the application of artificial intelligence, said Wu Qi, executive director at Wuxi Digital Economy Research Institute.

In the future, high-frequency trading in financial markets, virtual and augmented reality, ultra-high-definition videos, the internet of vehicles, drones, and smart factories, will develop rapidly because of abundant computing power, Wu told Yicai Global.