China Builds Big Data Centre Using Chips Made in China

Photo: Reuters

China is now working very hard to become independent in advanced technology. One of the most important areas is computer chips, which are like the brain of modern machines. Without strong chips, you cannot run artificial intelligence (AI), large data storage, or supercomputers.

For many years, China had to depend on foreign countries, especially the United States, for these advanced chips. But recently, because of political tensions and trade restrictions, the U.S. has limited the sale of certain high-end chips to China.

In response, China has started building its own chip industry. A big step in this plan is the construction of a massive data centre in Xining, Qinghai province, led by China Unicom, one of the country’s largest telecom companies. This project is not just about storage; it is about proving that Chinese chips can handle the toughest tasks.

The data centre already costs around $390 million and has started working at a smaller scale. But once fully complete, it will become one of the largest data centres powered mainly by home-made Chinese chips.

What Is a Data Centre?

To understand why this project is important, we should first know what a data centre is. A data centre is a place where thousands of computers and servers are kept together. They store information, process huge amounts of data, and allow companies and governments to run applications, websites, and AI tools.

For example:

• When you watch videos online, the content comes from a data centre.
• When a bank processes transactions, it uses a data centre.
• When scientists run complex research or AI programs, they use supercomputers inside a data centre.

So, building a new data centre in China means the country is preparing for a future where everything from social media, banking, transport, to national security can rely on domestic computing power.

The Numbers Behind the Project

This data centre has already reached 3,579 petaflops of computing power. To put that in simple terms: one petaflop equals one thousand trillion calculations per second. Imagine solving one math problem every second; now imagine solving a thousand trillion math problems every second. That is the kind of power we are talking about.

When finished, the project aims for 20,000 petaflops. That would make it one of the largest and most powerful centres in the world.

The Chips Being Used

A very important part of this project is the chips. Chips are the tiny parts inside computers that do the real thinking. Without strong chips, a data centre cannot work.

In this project:

• 72% of the AI chips come from Alibaba’s T-Head division.
• The rest come from other Chinese companies such as MetaX, Biren Tech, and Zhonghao Xinying.
• In the future, even more suppliers like Moore Threads, Enflame, and Tecorigin may provide their chips.
• This mix of companies shows that China is building a network of chip makers, not depending on just one source.

Why This Is a Big Deal

For many years, China had to buy advanced chips from foreign companies, especially from the U.S. company Nvidia. Nvidia chips are considered the most powerful for AI and supercomputing. But because of trade restrictions, the U.S. has blocked the sale of some top Nvidia chips to China.

The T-Head chips used in this new centre are said to be close in performance to the Nvidia H20, which is one of the few Nvidia chips still allowed for export to China. This shows that China’s domestic technology is slowly catching up.

Technology Inside the Chips

The T-Head chip has advanced features, such as 96 gigabytes of memory and HBM2e stacked memory. This makes the chip fast and efficient in handling AI workloads. Memory is important because AI models require a lot of data to be processed at once. The more memory and speed a chip has, the better it can perform.

Global Tensions

• This project is not happening in isolation. It is part of a larger conflict between the U.S. and China over technology.
• The U.S. government fears that if China has the most advanced chips, they could use them for military purposes.
• Because of this, the U.S. has placed export controls that prevent top companies like Nvidia, Intel, and AMD from selling their best chips to Chinese customers.
• On the other hand, China argues that it needs these chips for peaceful purposes like AI development, research, and digital growth.
• This back-and-forth has created pressure on China to speed up its domestic chip industry.

What This Means for China

This project has several meanings for China:

• Self-reliance – China wants to depend less on the U.S. and Europe for critical technology.
• Economic growth – By developing its own chip industry, China can create jobs and strengthen its economy.
• National security – By keeping computing power inside the country, China ensures that no outside country can block or control its digital future.
• Global influence – If China can build world-class chips, it can export them to other countries, gaining power in the global market.

Challenges Ahead

Of course, the road is not easy. Making advanced chips is extremely difficult. Only a few countries in the world, like the U.S., Taiwan, and South Korea, are leaders in this field. China still faces challenges such as:

• Lack of advanced chip-making machines.
• Restrictions on importing chip-making tools from Europe and the U.S.
• The need to train more experts in semiconductor design.
• But with large projects like this data centre, China shows it is serious about solving these problems.

The Bigger Picture

This project is not just about one building or one company. It represents a shift in the global tech race. The world is slowly splitting into two groups:

• One led by the U.S. and its allies.
• One led by China.

Each side wants to control the future of AI, data, and supercomputing. Whoever wins this race will likely hold more economic and political power in the future.

Impact on the World

• For other countries, this project raises many questions:
• For Asia – Countries nearby may start depending more on Chinese chips instead of U.S. ones.
• For Europe and U.S. – This could mean more competition and less control over the global chip market.
• For Africa and developing nations – They might get cheaper AI technology from China in the future.

The new data centre in Qinghai province is not just about technology. It is a statement. China is showing the world that it does not want to rely on others for critical technology anymore. By using its own chips, building its own systems, and training its own people, China is moving toward independence in one of the most important industries of the 21st century.

The road ahead is full of challenges, but this project marks a turning point. It shows how technology, politics, and economics are all connected. In the years to come, we may see more such projects where countries try to become stronger by relying on themselves rather than others.