Policy / Mixed
China
China directs compute capacity to designated hubs while tightening green and efficiency expectations.
National policy steers new capacity into eight computing hubs and ten data centre clusters, with demand-heavy workloads placed where renewable energy is plentiful. A 2023 plan targets more than 60% of new national computing capacity in the hubs by 2025. A 2024 action plan stresses site layout, strict project approval and renewable use, and an NDRC article reports 2026 directions on efficiency management and direct green power supply for computing facilities.
Power and grid
The NDRC article says authorities in May 2026 prioritised direct green electricity connections for computing facilities and notes a mismatch between western green power and eastern computing demand.
The rules and programmes
| Instrument | Kind | Status | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Data West Computing project | Programme | in force | Started in 2022; eight hubs and ten clusters, steering energy-intensive processing towards western regions with renewable resources. |
| Computing power network action plan | Policy | in force from 26 December 2023 | Issued by the National Data Bureau with NDRC and others; targets over 60% of new national computing power in the hubs by 2025. |
| Data Center Green and Low-Carbon Development Special Action Plan | Policy | in force | Issued July 2024 per an NDRC article of July 2026, covering site layout, strict project approval and renewable energy expansion. |
Checked against the primary sources linked above on 2 October 2026. Due for review by 1 January 2027. This is a summary, not legal advice. If something is out of date, tell us.