The Three Year Plan for Developing China’s New Data Centers

On 4 July 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released the Three-year Action Plan for the Development of New Data Centers (2021-2023) to support accelerated innovation in the newest generation of information technology.

Background

With the rapid development of 5G, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and other next-generation information technologies, the integration of information technology and traditional industries is accelerating. As the physical carrier of information systems in various industries, the humble data center has become an indispensable pillar in the infrastructure and plays a crucial role in the development of the digital economy.

Compared with traditional data centers, new data centers are characterized by high levels of technology, strong computational power, extreme energy efficiency, and high security. As digitalization becomes more widespread, new data centers can better support the next generation of information technology.

Goals

• By the end of 2021, the average utilization rate of data centers should be raised to above 55%, and the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of newly built large data centers should be reduced to below 1.35.
• By the end of 2023, a new type of data center should be formed with a reasonable layout, advanced technology, green with a low-carbon footprint, and computational power in line with the growth of the digital economy.
• By the end of 2023, the annual growth rate of the numbers of racks used in national data centers should be maintained at about 20%, and the average utilization rate should be raised to more than 60%.

Conclusion

To implement the Action Plan, in addition to the need for basic telecommunication enterprises, third-party data center and Internet enterprises to play to their respective advantages in both the construction and operation of new data centers. Furthermore, a healthy and orderly development environment is also indispensable. China will continue to take actions to guide and promote the development of new data centers.