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CHINA is embarking on a massive infrastructure expansion aimed at strengthening its position in the global artificial intelligence race, betting that technological dominance will depend not only on advanced chips and AI models but also on the physical systems that support them.
The initiative, known as the Six Networks, forms part of Beijing’s latest Five-Year Plan and represents the first time China has brought its largest infrastructure priorities under a single integrated programme rather than developing transport, energy and communications systems separately.
The project is designed to support the country’s AI ambitions while strengthening its manufacturing base, improving resilience against geopolitical tensions, economic disruptions and natural disasters, and accelerating its transition towards a lower-carbon economy.
China Securities estimates the programme could cost more than 26 trillion yuan (about S$5 trillion), with completion targeted by 2030.
Bloomberg reported on Monday that the Six Networks programme covers six key areas: electricity, water, telecommunications, computing, logistics and underground pipeline systems.
A major focus is digital infrastructure, with China planning to expand high-performance computing centres, general-purpose data centres and AI-focused computing hubs.
The country also aims to develop next-generation connectivity infrastructure, including ultra-high-speed fibre broadband, satellite internet and sixth-generation (6G) mobile networks.
Beijing intends to link data processing hubs across the country through faster and more reliable networks, allowing AI workloads to be distributed efficiently among data centres with available capacity.
The system is expected to support a broad range of applications, including factory automation, autonomous vehicles and robotics.
Energy infrastructure is another central component of the initiative.
China plans to expand long-distance power transmission lines, strengthen urban and rural electricity networks and build additional energy storage facilities to support renewable energy generation.
The government also intends to deploy artificial intelligence systems capable of monitoring electricity networks in real time, balancing supply and demand while directing renewable energy towards power-intensive facilities such as AI data centres.
The scale of electricity demand from data centres has become a growing concern, with their consumption estimated to be comparable to nearly twice the annual output of the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower project by installed capacity.
The Six Networks plan also includes upgrades to transport and water infrastructure.
Logistics networks will be improved to strengthen links between factories, ports and distribution centres, reducing transport costs and improving connections between major cities and remote regions.
Flood-control systems, including embankments, reservoirs and drainage networks, will also be upgraded, while major water diversion projects and irrigation systems will be expanded to improve resilience against droughts and floods.
China also plans to replace ageing underground infrastructure by constructing around 770,000km of water, drainage, gas and heating pipelines beneath cities.
The upgrades are intended to reduce leaks, prevent flooding, improve urban living conditions and provide construction activity amid a prolonged property sector downturn.
The push reflects Beijing’s view that infrastructure is becoming a strategic advantage in the competition with Washington over artificial intelligence leadership.
As AI models grow increasingly complex, they require enormous computing capacity, electricity, cooling systems, high-speed networks and efficient supply chains.
Rather than addressing these needs separately, China aims to create an integrated national system similar to an electricity grid, where resources can be directed to areas with the greatest demand.
The programme also supports broader economic objectives.
Improved logistics infrastructure is expected to connect industrial centres with consumer markets, while water projects aim to strengthen food security and protect communities from climate-related risks.
The government hopes modernising urban infrastructure will also generate employment and offset some of the weakness caused by the property downturn.
Financing the ambitious plan will require a combination of government funding and private investment.
Public interest projects, including flood-control systems and water diversion programmes, are expected to rely heavily on central and local government bonds as well as loans from state-owned policy banks.
Commercially viable projects, such as logistics hubs, energy systems and computing networks, are expected to attract private capital through corporate investment and public-private partnerships.
However, analysts warn that funding could prove challenging.
China’s economic growth has slowed amid weak consumer spending, a difficult employment environment and a prolonged property crisis.
Local governments, which have traditionally played a major role in infrastructure spending, have seen revenue from land sales fall sharply from its 2021 peak.
Beijing has also tightened restrictions on local government borrowing as it seeks to contain risks linked to rising debt levels accumulated since the global financial crisis.
Technology restrictions imposed by the United States could pose another obstacle.
Export controls on advanced semiconductors have limited China's access to some cutting-edge chips, potentially slowing progress in the computing and communications sectors at the heart of the Six Networks initiative.
Coordination across multiple government agencies will also be a challenge, with researchers warning that fragmented planning, inconsistent technical standards and unclear rules on sharing benefits could lead to duplication and inefficient investment.
Meanwhile, the United States is also accelerating its AI infrastructure build-up as technology companies seek to maintain an advantage over China.
Major US firms, including Meta Platforms, Google and Amazon, are planning to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in large-scale data centres equipped with advanced AI chips.
OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has previously said the company expects to require "trillions" of dollars in infrastructure investment to develop and operate future AI systems.
The Trump administration has backed the expansion of AI infrastructure by proposing the use of federal land and resources for data centres and measures to secure sufficient energy supplies.
However, opposition has grown in some communities over concerns about higher electricity costs and environmental impacts.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced a one-year moratorium on new large data centre projects in the state, prompting criticism from President Donald Trump.
"Data centres are tremendous Wins for the states and communities that are lucky enough to get them," Trump wrote in a social media post. - July 27, 2026
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