China Is Building Nearly 90 AI Data Centres in Inner Mongolia to Compete With the US

Ulanqab, home to fewer than 2 million people, is becoming China's AI hub, with 89 data centre projects as Beijing races to compete with the US (Credit: 天王星/Wikimedia Commons)

China is expanding its artificial intelligence infrastructure in Inner Mongolia, where authorities in Ulanqab say the city has signed 89 data centre projects, 86 focused on AI. The expansion is part of Beijing's effort to strengthen its position in the global AI race.

Located on the edge of the Gobi Desert, Ulanqab has fewer than two million residents. Once known as China's 'potato capital', it is becoming a data centre hub, with projects reportedly linked to Huawei, ByteDance, DeepSeek, Kuaishou and VNET. DeepSeek is said to be planning about 1GW of capacity in the city.