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China eyes AI, space internet in 15th five-year plan draft
China’s draft 15th five-year plan outlines a moderately proactive buildout of tech infrastructure spanning AI, telecommunications, space internet, and coordinated green energy to bolster competitiveness with the US.
It proposes a nationwide computing network built from tiered facilities and an accelerated launch of space internet and its large-scale consumer applications.
The draft also targets 5G and 6G networks, facilities supporting data, and infrastructure for the low-altitude economy.
The document says Beijing will reinforce and expand its competitive advantages and link computing power with green electricity.
Alibaba Cloud signed a partnership deal with Shanghai to build an ultra-large-scale computing center using the Zhenwu chips developed by Alibaba’s T-Head chip unit.
The plan ties large computing centers to renewable energy sources like wind and solar to align tech expansion with carbon reduction goals.
🔗 Source: South China Morning Post
🧠 Food for thought
Implications, context, and why it matters.
Grid upgrades and tens of thousands of satellites back the ambitions
- A five-year investment of 5 trillion yuan (~$722 billion) would fund China’s power-grid upgrades, almost twice the prior planning period 1.
- The spending aims to manage swings in renewable output and meet higher demand, including electricity for AI computing 1.
- The “space internet” push (an initiative to provide internet connectivity via large satellite networks) relies on two state-led constellations. Guowang and Qianfan, also known as SpaceSail, plan 27,992 low-Earth orbit satellites by 2030 with 15,000 and 12,992 respectively 2.
- Launch capacity still lags since the U.S. put eight times more satellite payloads into orbit than China in 2024 3.
The plan reaches into orbit with AI and data networks
- Separate work on space connectivity includes proposals for “gigawatt-class” space digital-intelligence infrastructure powered by solar energy in orbit 4.
- Backers pitch it as a way to ease Earth’s energy limits by moving power-hungry AI workloads closer to a steadier power source in space 5.
- An orbital network could keep services running during failures of undersea cables and reduce reliance on foreign-controlled systems 2.
- China’s effort runs alongside SpaceX and Google projects on space-based data center concepts, which could make control of orbital computing a geopolitical lever 6.
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