China's data centres draw 104 TWh of electricity a year, which places it 2nd of the 33 countries this atlas carries a figure for.
That is 1.0% of everything the country generates — around the 1.2% median across those countries.
Set against 31.9 GW of installed capacity, that implies a 37% load factor.
8 metros are tracked here, totalling 10,000 MW, of which Yangtze River Delta alone is 2,600 MW — 26% of the national total.
3,250 MW of that is not yet operating: it is under construction or still an announcement.
Its strongest showing anywhere in the atlas is Silicon on the physical basis, at #1 of 14.
22 suppliers are domiciled here, booking roughly $174bn between them; the largest is Huawei.
Its single strongest grip on the buildout is Optics & transceivers, where firms domiciled here hold 55% of global supply in a sub-layer weighted 0.70 for how hard it is to substitute.
About $90bn of AI infrastructure investment has been announced for China, though announced is not built — that figure is graded C.
National context
Where China ranks
The same tables read three ways. A country can lead one basis and be invisible on another, and that gap is the whole point of the atlas.
| Tier | Physicalassets here | Ownershiprevenue booked | Controlcould stop you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silicon | #1of 14 | #6of 9 | #4of 10 |
| Memory & Storage | #2of 7 | #4of 5 | #4of 5 |
| Networking | #1of 9 | #2of 4 | #2of 5 |
| Systems & Facility | #2of 54 | #3of 9 | #3of 9 |
| Power & Grid | #2of 77 | #3of 17 | #1of 12 |
Data centre metros (8)
| Yangtze River Delta — Operating2,600 MW — the largest designated hub node in China, anchored on Shanghai. Together with Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei it holds the country's biggest installed rack base. | 2,600 MW B |
| Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei — Operating2,250 MW across the Beijing, Tianjin and Zhangjiakou nodes. Synergy separately puts Beijing alone at 1,799 MW on a hyperscale measure, the second-largest single market in the world. | 2,250 MW B |
| Greater Bay Area — Operating1,900 MW across Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shaoguan — the southern manufacturing and cloud corridor. | 1,900 MW B |
| Inner Mongolia hub — Under construction1,100 MW at the designated Hohhot-Ulanqab node; counting every corporate campus along that corridor the figure comfortably exceeds 3,000 MW. Cold climate and stranded wind are the draw. | 1,100 MW B |
| Chengdu-Chongqing — Under construction900 MW — the western interior hub, hydro-backed. | 900 MW B |
| Guizhou hub — Under construction700 MW at Gui'an. The original 'Eastern Data, Western Computing' showcase: cheap land, cool climate, hydro power. | 700 MW B |
| Gansu hub — Under construction300 MW at Qingyang, paired with large-scale wind and solar. | 300 MW B |
| Ningxia hub — Under construction250 MW at Zhongwei, the smallest of the eight designated hubs. | 250 MW B |
Supply positions
Share of each global sub-layer held by firms domiciled here, and how hard that sub-layer would be to substitute. Those two multiplied are what the control basis ranks on.
Silicon
| Sub-layer | Share | Substitutability |
|---|---|---|
| Design & IP | 4% B | ×0.85 |
| Foundry | 8% A | ×0.98 |
| Advanced packaging | 12% C | ×0.92 |
| Test & assembly | 20% C | ×0.45 |
Strongest single grip: Advanced packaging — 12% × 0.92 substitutability weight.
Memory & Storage
| Sub-layer | Share | Substitutability |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional DRAM | 8% B | ×0.90 |
| NAND | 7% C | ×0.75 |
| Enterprise SSD | 10% C | ×0.55 |
Strongest single grip: Conventional DRAM — 8% × 0.90 substitutability weight.
Networking
| Sub-layer | Share | Substitutability |
|---|---|---|
| Optics & transceivers | 55% B | ×0.70 |
| Switch silicon | 5% C | ×0.90 |
| Switch systems | 18% C | ×0.60 |
| Fibre plant | 40% C | ×0.50 |
| Submarine cable | 20% C | ×0.85 |
Strongest single grip: Optics & transceivers — 55% × 0.70 substitutability weight.
Systems & Facility
| Sub-layer | Share | Substitutability |
|---|---|---|
| Rack integration & ODM | 6% B | ×0.80 |
| DC development | 10% C | ×0.50 |
| Colocation & neocloud | 8% B | ×0.45 |
| Cooling & thermal | 15% C | ×0.65 |
| Construction & EPC | 20% C | ×0.35 |
Strongest single grip: Cooling & thermal — 15% × 0.65 substitutability weight.
Power & Grid
| Sub-layer | Share | Substitutability |
|---|---|---|
| Turbines & prime movers | 18% B | ×0.95 |
| Transformers & switchgear | 22% C | ×0.80 |
| Cables & HVDC | 18% C | ×0.90 |
| On-site power & backup | 18% C | ×0.45 |
| Nuclear & SMR | 25% C | ×0.70 |
Strongest single grip: Transformers & switchgear — 22% × 0.80 substitutability weight.
Suppliers domiciled here (22)
| Huawei — Switching, siliconNetworkingDomestic-facing at the high end following export controls. | $30bn |
| Shanghai Electric — Turbines, nuclearPower & Grid | $16bn |
| TBEA — Transformers, cablePower & Grid | $14bn |
| Lenovo — Server systemsSystems & Facility | $12bn |
| State Grid affiliates — Grid equipmentPower & GridAggregated equipment arms; boundaries are opaque. | $12bn |
| Inspur — Server systemsSystems & Facility | $10bn |
| CHINT — Switchgear, distributionPower & Grid | $9bn |
| Dongfang Electric — Turbines, nuclearPower & GridMitsubishi joint-venture partner in China. | $9bn |
| SMIC — FoundrySilicon5.1% of foundry revenue; constrained at the leading edge by export controls. | $8bn |
| H3C — SwitchingNetworking | $8bn |
| Zhongtian (ZTT) — HV and submarine cablePower & Grid | $7bn |
| Harbin Electric — TurbinesPower & GridGE Vernova joint-venture partner in China. | $6bn |
| JCET — Packaging and testSilicon | $5bn |
| YMTC — NANDMemory & StorageExport-controlled; capacity growth is hard to observe. | $5bn |
| InnoLight — 800G transceiversNetworking23.4% of global transceiver shipments in 2025 and the leader in 800G. | $5bn |
| CXMT — DRAMMemory & StorageFastest-growing unobserved variable in memory. | $4bn |
| YOFC — Optical fibre and cableNetworking | $4bn |
| Eoptolink — TransceiversNetworking | $3bn |
| Hua Hong — Mature-node foundrySilicon | $2bn |
| HG Genuine — TransceiversNetworking | $2bn |
| Accelink — Optical componentsNetworking | $2bn |
| HMN Technologies — Submarine cable systemsNetworkingIncreasingly excluded from Western consortium routes. | $1bn |
Revenue is the group or segment figure closest to each tier's perimeter. Segment boundaries differ between issuers, so treat the split as indicative.