China accelerates 'East Data, West Computing' strategy to power AI ambitions

China is advancing its national AI strategy through the 'East Data, West Computing' project, aiming to build a massive distributed computing infrastructure. The plan leverages renewable energy in western provinces for large-scale AI model training, while coastal economic hubs handle low-latency tasks. This initiative, part of the broader 'AI Plus' plan, underpins Beijing's goal to become a leading 'intelligent civilisation' by 2035.