What is the driving force behind the current development of AI? The answer undoubtedly lies in computing power. And what underpins computing power? Data centers.

A data center is essentially a centralized hub that integrates GPUs, storage systems, networks, and other components to provide external computing power.

The capacity of data centers can be evaluated in various ways, such as power consumption (in gigawatts, GW), the number of server racks (in tens of thousands), and computing power (in exaFLOPS, EFLOPS). However, the industry standard is to measure it based on power consumption, where 1GW represents an installed capacity of 1 billion watts.

According to iMasons' "State of the Digital Infrastructure Industry 2026," the current global data center capacity (including operational, under-construction, and planned projects) has reached 373GW.

Nevertheless, only slightly over 110GW are currently in stable operation, with more projects planned but not yet operational.

So, where are these over 100GW of data centers located across different countries and regions? Recently, an organization released a report detailing the global distribution of these data centers.

The United States indeed takes the lead by a significant margin, boasting a capacity of 58GW and ranking first globally. This is largely due to the US's unrestricted access to GPUs, allowing it to purchase them at will. Additionally, tech giants like Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Meta, and SpaceX possess the financial resources to amass vast quantities of GPUs and CPUs, contributing to such a high capacity.

China comes in second with 24GW. Although this is less than half of the US's capacity, China has managed to build these data centers despite US chip restrictions, which have prevented it from acquiring the most advanced AI chips. This demonstrates that US sanctions on AI chips have had minimal impact on China's progress.

The Asia-Pacific region (excluding China) follows with approximately 15GW, while Europe, the Middle East, and Africa collectively have about 14GW, and Latin America has 2GW.

In other words, in terms of data center capacity, China's 24GW surpasses the combined total of Japan, South Korea, and Europe. Apart from the US, China stands as the strongest player, with other countries and regions unable to match its prowess.

This aligns with the current landscape of the global AI competition, where the race is essentially a duel between the US and China. Countries like Japan, South Korea, and Europe are not in the same league.

I believe the US must be somewhat concerned about this situation. The US has been imposing restrictions on the sale of AI chips to China in an attempt to prevent China from building more data centers and competing with the US in the AI arena.

However, it is evident that while the US has succeeded in restricting AI chip sales, it has failed to impede China's data center construction or the development of Chinese AI. Instead, it has inadvertently spurred the growth of China's AI chip industry. This is a classic example of self-defeating behavior.