China should optimize its national integrated computing power network and build a classified computing system to shore up the digital economy, Lian Yuming, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said.

Lian, who is also the founding president of the Beijing International Institute for Urban Development, noted that his priorities this year focus on recalibrating the "East Data, West Computing" strategy. As the country prepares for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), computing power has become a critical productive force — invisible yet ubiquitous — serving as the bedrock for the digital era.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, China established eight national computing hubs — in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Chengdu-Chongqing region, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Guizhou province, Gansu province and the Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

According to the National Data Bureau, as of end-June, the total scale of data center racks in use nationwide reached 10.85 million standard racks, with the scale of intelligent computing power hitting 788 EFLOPS.

Meanwhile, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology show that intelligent computing is now widely applied in generative large models, embodied AI, smart cities and industrial manufacturing. Moreover, over 23,000 innovative computing projects have been collected through computing application competitions, achieving scaled promotion in sectors such as industry, finance, healthcare and energy.

Projections indicate that by 2035, AI's contribution to China's GDP will exceed 11 trillion yuan ($1.53 trillion), potentially driving a tenfold or even hundredfold increase in computing power demand. Facing this surge, a balanced and orderly improvement in computing supply is key, he said.

However, Lian pointed out that while the aggregate numbers are impressive, deep-seated structural contradictions remain. He identified four major hurdles, starting with a "supply-demand mismatch" where a surplus of low-end general computing power contrasts with an acute shortage of high-end intelligent computing power.

This has led to low utilization rates in western regions and a supply crunch in the industrial east. Additionally, "computing islands" persist due to inconsistent technical standards and imperfect market mechanisms that prevent resources from flowing efficiently across regions.

Network constraints have also posed a challenge, as high latency and transmission costs weaken the locational advantages of western hubs. Furthermore, the level of "computing-electricity synergy" remained low, with data centers lagging in green transformation and integration with clean energy systems.

To dismantle these barriers, Lian suggested accelerating the optimization of the national strategic layout. He called for a four-pronged approach that includes constructing a three-tier architecture comprising national, regional and edge levels to implement precise functional layouts.

He also advocated for the establishment of a unified scheduling mechanism for efficient resource allocation, strengthening key technological breakthroughs to reduce network fees, and deepening the synergy between computing and electricity to promote green, inclusive development.