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China’s ‘infrastructure first’ approach a major advantage in AI arms race: Davos panel
A rapid energy buildout and strategic data centre expansion give China unique advantages in developing its AI industry
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China’s “infrastructure first” approach to developing its artificial intelligence industry will help unlock frontier innovation in the fast-moving technology, according to the president of Kimi model developer Moonshot AI.
The country’s energy buildout had made the supply of electricity “very cheap”, which was essential for fundamental research and innovation, said Moonshot’s Zhang Yutong in Wednesday’s panel discussion on China’s “AI Plus” strategy at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“From a support perspective, infrastructure is definitely very important,” Zhang said during the discussion, which was moderated by China Global Television Network anchor Guan Xin.
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Zhang’s assessment underscored the increasing amounts of electricity required to train cutting-edge AI models being developed at massive data centres, where AI servers run vast numbers of advanced chips from the likes of Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Huawei Technologies.
According to a recent commentary from public policy think tank Brookings Institution, China’s electricity demand for data centres was expected to more than double over the next five years, reaching around 277 terawatt-hours by 2030. That growth was not expected to be a constraint for China, given the country’s historically rapid pace of overall energy expansion, it said.
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The US, meanwhile, faced an intensifying power shortage, prompting tech giants from Google to Meta Platforms to acquire power assets to secure supplies for training their AI models.
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