Market profile
China
The IEA puts China at 25% of world data centre electricity use in 2024, second to the US. Omdia puts Alibaba Cloud at 37%, Huawei Cloud at 17% and Tencent Cloud at 10% of mainland cloud infrastructure spending in Q4 2025. MIIT counted 10.85 million standard racks in use in June 2025. The East Data West Computing programme steers new capacity to eight national hubs.
- Tracked project records
- 0
- Policy records
- 1
- Cloud regions
- 0
- Last checked
- 19 Oct 2026
Overview
Policy shapes where capacity goes. In February 2022 China approved eight national computing hubs (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Chengdu-Chongqing, Inner Mongolia, Guizhou, Gansu and Ningxia) and ten data centre clusters. The NDRC said eastern regions face land and energy shortages, while western regions are rich in renewable energy. Alibaba Group committed RMB 380 billion over three years from February 2025 to cloud and AI infrastructure. The IEA expects Chinese data centre electricity use to grow by about 175 TWh between 2024 and 2030.
Grid context
The East Data West Computing programme moves demand towards western hubs rich in renewable energy. The IEA projects about 170% growth in Chinese data centre electricity use to 2030.
Tracked projects
No project records published for China yet.
Capacity in tracked public coverage
Tracked public coverage, not a national total. Sums of reported, project-level figures from 0 of the 0 published project records we track for China. Each metric and each delivery class is summed on its own and never added to another. Confirmed operating capacity never includes design or ultimate capacity. Delayed projects are never counted as under construction now. Campus and phase figures are not double counted. Ranges and upper bounds are not summed. Unknown values are not counted as zero.
None of the tracked project records for China has a figure that can be summed yet. Figures with an unclear basis and undisclosed values are never added. Each project page lists its reported figures as published. Not disclosed is not zero.
Method: capacity rules. Company-wide investment, area figures and third-party market estimates are never included in these sums.
Hyperscaler and AI cloud activity in China
No sourced projects yet for China. Part of the Asia Pacific (APAC) region on the hyperscaler and cloud hub.
Capacity, forecasts and market share: China
Every number is shown as published, with its basis, date and source. Figures with different bases (IT power, grid connection, electricity use) or from different sources are never added or blended. Where no figure exists we say not publicly reported. CoolPower makes no forecasts of its own.
Current capacity and pipeline
| Figure | What it measures | State | Period or as of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.85 million standard racks Official source | Count Standard racks in use, reported from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (racks, not MW) Source statement (paraphrased): "10.85 million standard racks in use at the end of June" | Operational | 2025-06-30 | Science and Technology Daily (reporting MIIT) (opens in a new tab) Published 23 Aug 2025. Accessed 19 Oct 2026. |
Forecasts and scenarios
| Figure | What it measures | Period or as of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| about 175 TWh Forecast | Electricity use IEA Base Case increase in China data centre electricity consumption (plus 170%) Source statement (paraphrased): "in China by around 175 TWh (up 170%)" | 2024 to 2030 (increase) | International Energy Agency (opens in a new tab) Published 10 Apr 2025. Accessed 19 Oct 2026. |
Cloud market share
| Figure | What it measures | Period or as of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 37% Alibaba Cloud Third-party reported | Cloud market share Share of mainland China cloud infrastructure services spending (Omdia) Source statement (paraphrased): "Alibaba Cloud 37%" | 2025 Q4 | DatacenterDynamics (reporting Omdia data) (opens in a new tab) Published 5 May 2026. Accessed 19 Oct 2026. |
| 17% Huawei Cloud Third-party reported | Cloud market share Share of mainland China cloud infrastructure services spending (Omdia) Source statement (paraphrased): "Huawei Cloud 17%" | 2025 Q4 | DatacenterDynamics (reporting Omdia data) (opens in a new tab) Published 5 May 2026. Accessed 19 Oct 2026. |
| 10% Tencent Cloud Third-party reported | Cloud market share Share of mainland China cloud infrastructure services spending (Omdia) Source statement (paraphrased): "Tencent Cloud 10%" | 2025 Q4 | DatacenterDynamics (reporting Omdia data) (opens in a new tab) Published 5 May 2026. Accessed 19 Oct 2026. |
Capital expenditure guidance
| Figure | What it measures | Period or as of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNY 380 billion Alibaba Group Official source | Capital expenditure Planned investment in cloud computing and AI infrastructure over three years Source statement (paraphrased): "RMB 380 billion over the next three years" | three years from 2025 | Alibaba Group (opens in a new tab) Published 24 Feb 2025. Accessed 19 Oct 2026. |
Company-wide guidance, each in its own currency and period. These are not data centre totals and are never summed.
Other sourced market facts
| Figure | What it measures | Period or as of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| USD 14.7 billion Third-party reported | Cloud spending Mainland China cloud infrastructure services spending, up 26% year on year (Omdia) Source statement (paraphrased): "spend reached $14.7 billion, up 26%" | 2025 Q4 | DatacenterDynamics (reporting Omdia data) (opens in a new tab) Published 5 May 2026. Accessed 19 Oct 2026. |
Cloud regions in China
A cloud region is a provider's service area. It is not a data centre campus and has no MW figure here.
No cloud regions recorded.
Policy timeline
Sources (6), last checked 19 Oct 2026
- Chinese cloud infrastructure spend up 26% in Q4 2025 (opens in a new tab), DatacenterDynamics (reporting Omdia data), published 5 May 2026, accessed 19 Oct 2026
- China computing infrastructure: standard racks in use at end of June 2025 (opens in a new tab), Science and Technology Daily (reporting MIIT), published 23 Aug 2025, accessed 19 Oct 2026
- China launches East Data West Computing project (national computing hubs) (opens in a new tab), National Development and Reform Commission, published 18 Feb 2022, accessed 19 Oct 2026
- Notice on national computing network hub nodes (opens in a new tab), State Council of the PRC (gov.cn), published 17 Feb 2022, accessed 19 Oct 2026
- Alibaba Group announcement on cloud and AI infrastructure investment (opens in a new tab), Alibaba Group, published 24 Feb 2025, accessed 19 Oct 2026
- Energy and AI: energy demand from AI (opens in a new tab), International Energy Agency, published 10 Apr 2025, accessed 19 Oct 2026
Last checked 19 Oct 2026 by CoolPower Index research (automated, sourced). Report a correction.