China’s Intelligent Computing Power Hits 2,185 EFLOPS
China’s intelligent computing power has surged to 2,185 EFLOPS (exafloating-point operations per second) as of the end of June 2026, marking a 177% year-on-year increase, according to official data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Monday. The announcement, made at a State Council Information Office press conference, also revealed that over 70 computing express lanes have been built around national computing hub nodes over the past two years.
Infrastructure Milestones
Xie Cun (谢存), Director of MIIT’s Information and Communications Administration Bureau, told reporters that the overall rack utilization rate of national computing facilities has reached 71.4%, indicating strong demand for computing resources. China has also built 52 large-scale AI computing facilities, each equipped with over 10,000 GPUs, as Xinhua News reported.
The computing express lanes — high-speed network corridors specifically designed for computing power transmission — have improved network performance between related hub nodes by 10%. These lanes are a key component of China’s “East Data West Computing” (东数西算) initiative, launched in early 2022, which channels eastern China’s computing demands to western regions where renewable energy and cooling resources are more abundant.
Rapid Growth Trajectory
The latest figures represent a significant acceleration in China’s computing infrastructure buildout. In April 2026, MIIT Vice Minister Zhang Yunming had announced that intelligent computing power stood at 1,882 EFLOPS as of the end of March. The jump to 2,185 EFLOPS by end of June represents an increase of approximately 303 EFLOPS — or 16% — in just three months, as China News Service reported.
“Our intelligent computing power has reached 2,185 EFLOPS, a 177% year-on-year increase, with steadily improving integration and application efficiency,” Xie Cun said at the press conference, according to China News Service.
5G and Network Expansion
Complementing the computing power buildout, China’s telecommunications infrastructure continues to expand rapidly. As of June 2026, the country had deployed 5.102 million 5G base stations and 32.86 million 10G PON ports with gigabit network service capability, the Economic Observer reported.
5G and gigabit optical network applications have been integrated into 94 major sectors of the national economy. Over 26,000 “5G + Industrial Internet” projects are under construction, with 1,260 categorized 5G factories already built and more than 80,000 5G industry virtual private networks established.
Strategic Context and Future Outlook
The announcement comes during the 2026 World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, held July 17-20, where domestic AI clusters including Huawei’s Ascend 950 super node and Zhongke Shuguang’s all-domestic 100,000-card AI super cluster were showcased. The timing underscores China’s commitment to positioning AI infrastructure as a national strategic priority.
MIIT has indicated that planning for next-generation communications networks will be integrated into the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan, suggesting sustained government investment. Key technology priorities include 6G mobile communications, ultra-high-speed optical communications, submarine cables, and satellite communications.
Looking ahead, China is exploring the establishment of a national computing network company and potentially extending computing infrastructure along the Belt and Road Initiative. The ministry also plans to deepen integration of 5G and gigabit networks into industrial applications, with convergence into emerging fields such as brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, and intelligent connected vehicles.
What to Watch
As China’s computing capacity continues to scale at an exponential rate, several questions remain open: the breakdown between domestic versus imported chips powering this capacity, the energy consumption associated with this massive infrastructure and its alignment with carbon neutrality goals, and how China’s 2,185 EFLOPS compares with computing power in the United States and the European Union. The rapid pace of buildout — with a 177% year-on-year increase — suggests that China’s AI infrastructure race is far from over.