Top Leaders Signal Strong Support: Vast Prospects for Computing Power Industry, Deepening "AI+" Initiative
nashnova research
On October 16, Xi Jinping inspected a computing-power base in Inner Mongolia and declared the sector's prospects broad, while the State Council deployed a deeper 'AI+' campaign and the Commerce Ministry moved to tighten export controls on AI and other technologies — three signals on one day mark China's AI computing strategy entering a new phase of simultaneous expansion and protection.
Why did the top leader visit a computing-power base in person?
Xi Jinping traveled to the Chahar High-Tech Zone in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, to inspect the "East Data, West Computing" project — a national plan that routes data-processing demand from eastern cities to western regions where electricity is cheaper and the climate cooler.
He stated that the computing-power network is one of the nation's "six networks" under strategic planning, and that the industry is in an accelerating phase with broad prospects.
This means → computing power is no longer just a tech-sector matter; it has been elevated to the level of national infrastructure, on par with the highway and power grids.
This is the highest-level direct endorsement of the computing-power industry to date — far weightier than any ministry-level policy document.
What do "computing-electricity coordination" and "computing-water coordination" actually mean?
Xi required that data-center construction meet standards of efficiency, green sustainability, and security, with special emphasis on "computing-electricity coordination" and "computing-water coordination."
In plain terms = large data centers are massive consumers of electricity and cooling water. Building them where power is cheap solves one problem, but cooling-water supply must be addressed too — otherwise, the bigger the facility, the larger the loss.
This reflects a top-level stance that expansion will not come at any cost: green credentials and economic viability are hard constraints, not slogans.
The State Council met the same day on 'AI+' — where is the focus?
Premier Li Qiang chaired a State Council executive meeting the same day, receiving a progress briefing on the "AI+" campaign.
The meeting framed AI as a critical variable for future development, and directed that China leverage its "complete industrial system, rich application scenarios, and strong engineering capability."
This means → the policy priority is clearly on scaling AI deployment in the real economy — factories, logistics, healthcare — rather than chasing isolated breakthroughs in basic research.
The meeting also called for stronger algorithm innovation, computing-electricity coordination, and higher-quality data supply — shoring up weaknesses and sharpening strengths in parallel.
Why were export controls tightened on the same day?
The Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology simultaneously released a draft revision of the Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited or Restricted from Export, covering AI, biomedicine, and photovoltaics — 40 technologies in total.
AI had the broadest scope: large models, intelligent agents, computing clusters, and information-processing technologies — 23 items. Photovoltaics accounted for 12; biomedicine for 5.
In plain terms = one hand ramps up domestic computing-power investment while the other locks the door on core technologies — expansion and protection at once.
Technologies already in the public domain through open-source release or academic publication are excluded, signaling that the controls target unreleased core capabilities, not a blanket restriction.
Three signals on one day — what comes next?
Top-leader endorsement + State Council deployment + export-control tightening — three signals released on the same day is exceptionally rare in China's policy calendar.
This reflects a strategic upgrade: China's AI computing strategy is moving from a single track of "invest and expand" to a dual-track system of expansion plus protection.
The key verification point ahead is the pace and strength of follow-through measures — how funding flows, how projects are approved, and how the export-control list is enforced will determine whether this round of policy signals can materially pull the supply chain forward.
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