China makes Tremendous Advancement in Artificial Intelligence by aiming to Construct over 36 Large-Scale Data Centres driven by above 115,000 NVIDIA AI Chips This has occurred in the face of US export bans that continue to deprive high-end models such as the H100 and H200 NVIDIA GPUs.
Washington has been trying for years to restrict China’s access to the most advanced artificial intelligence chips. These curbs were in the hope of slowing down China’s progress in AI with specific regard to defense and security. But China’s latest project which features 115,000 NVIDIA AI chips represents an extremely significant pushback on those efforts.
NVIDIA AI Chips: Huge buildout of AI data centers
China’s massive AI infrastructure plan reportedly involves the construction of 36 to 39 data center clusters across western provinces, including Xinjiang and Qinghai. They’re buzzes also for abundant renewable energy resources — wind, solar and hydropower — and the cooler climates required to keep power-hungry data processing hardware chilled.
About 70 percent of the 115,000 AI chips will be installed in a single large data center not far from Yiwu in Xinjiang, for example, according to Yaqiong Liu, who is in charge of A.I. chip development at Huawei. This single project could be competitive, if not surpass, the computing resources of some of the world’s most powerful AI clusters.
NVIDIA AI Chips Have Yet to Be Counted Out, Even in the US
The interesting thing is the type of chips being used. China is said to be purchasing ‘limited’ NVIDIA H100 and H200 GPUs, which are influenced by existing trade bans in the US. These chips are described as being key for high-performance AI workloads like deep learning and large language model training.
So how are they getting to China? Some analysts speculate that the NVIDIA AI chips could be purchased through third-party suppliers; the chips may be obtainable through less strict channels, or even the black market. Its not clear as yet, but the quantity would indicate some form of organized purchase.
Initiative Driven by Chinese Government and AI Firms
China’s ambitious effort is spearheaded by a coalition of state-supported AI firms and government support, reflecting a national push to lead the world in AI. As export controls from the West tightened, it seems that China is getting ready with alternative routes to feed, nurture, and scale its AI ecosystem.
Beyond the current processing power that this indicates, it is an astonishingly bold step which also indicates future potential Chinese domination in domestic AI chip manufacturing. The country is probably putting in place contingency plans to eventually reduce dependence on foreign hardware.
A Strategic Tactic Against US Policy
The United States has long regarded China’s AI ambitions as a threat to national security. With so many of those chips now heading out the door, the responsibility returns to US policy makers. How will they respond to a nation that presses ahead despite bans intended to slow it down?
It also poses questions about the function of present export controls if China so obviously thinks that it can circumvent or withstand them.
