Technology & AIAnalysis

China's Intelligent Compute Scale Expands 2.8-Fold as Domestic AI Supercluster Enters Service

NDRC reports rapid adoption of domestic 100k-card superclusters, trillion-parameter open-source models, and dataset development.

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The Brief

According to China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's intelligent computing capacity by the end of June reached 2.8 times its scale from the same period last year. Speaking at a press conference reported by People's Daily, NDRC spokesperson Jiang Yi highlighted key technological milestones, including the deployment of China's first fully domestic 100,000-card artificial intelligence supercluster and global downloads of domestic AI models exceeding 10 billion. Domestic AI-related industries maintained a growth rate above 30 percent over the first half of the year.

Why it matters

The 2.8-fold expansion in intelligent computing capacity and the operational launch of a fully domestic 100,000-card supercluster signal that China is making progress in bridging software and hardware ecosystems for domestic chips and models. This infrastructure expansion aims to strengthen digital economy supply chains and foster new quality productive forces amid global competition.

China context

Driven by state policy guidance and rising commercial demand, the NDRC is coordinating computing infrastructure, dataset creation, and open-source ecosystems. The push reflects Beijing's strategy to reduce reliance on foreign hardware by accelerating the alignment between domestic AI chips and foundational models.

Editor's View

EDITOR'S VIEW — Analysis and inference, not factual reporting. While the rapid surge in compute capacity and downloading metrics underscores momentum in China's AI sector, practical performance during large-scale training remains crucial. Bridging the gap between raw hardware scale and actual software-hardware efficiency—particularly for trillion-parameter model training—will determine whether fully domestic superclusters can offer competitive alternatives to international hardware stacks.

What to watch

  • Performance and operational stability of the fully domestic 100,000-card supercluster during trillion-parameter model training.
  • Adoption rates and standardization speed for pairing domestic AI models with indigenous silicon chips.
  • State and local policy rollouts aimed at expanding open access to high-quality public datasets.

Key Takeaways

  • 1China's intelligent computing capacity reached 2.8 times its prior-year scale by the end of June 2026.
  • 2The nation's first fully domestic 100,000-card AI supercluster has officially entered operational service.
  • 3Domestic enterprises including DeepSeek and Moonshot AI released trillion-parameter open-source models, pushing total global downloads past 10 billion.
  • 4Over 120,000 high-quality datasets have been built, supporting AI industry growth exceeding 30 percent.
China's intelligent computing capacity reached 2.8 times its scale compared to the same period last year as of the end of June, according to official details released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and reported by People's Daily. Speaking at the commission's monthly press conference on July 31, Jiang Yi, spokesperson and director of the Policy Research Office at the NDRC, stated that China's independent innovation in artificial intelligence accelerated notably during the first half of the year, achieving rapid breakthroughs across multiple links in the full industry chain. A major focus of the NDRC's announcement was the reinforcement of China's computing base. In particular, the country's first fully domestic 100,000-card artificial intelligence supercluster has been officially put into operation. The rollout of this ultra-large supercluster underscores ongoing national efforts to construct high-capacity compute infrastructure grounded in domestic hardware components, strengthening the foundational infrastructure required for heavy AI workloads. In addition to expanding hardware capacity, model capability has advanced significantly. Domestic enterprises such as DeepSeek and Moonshot AI have successively released multiple open-source large models featuring parameter sizes at the trillion level. The NDRC reported that cumulative global downloads of Chinese domestic models have now surpassed 10 billion, while technical adaptation between domestic model software and indigenous compute chips has been accelerating across the industry. The flow of core data elements has also gained momentum, with more than 120,000 high-quality datasets constructed to date. According to Jiang, a positive cycle wherein computing power, model iteration, and data resources mutually enhance one another is rapidly forming. Driven by these coordinated developments across compute, models, and data, artificial intelligence has emerged as a major dynamic driver of broader economic expansion, with related AI sectors continuing to sustain high growth rates above 30 percent.

Sources

  1. Com People's Daily · 7/31/2026