Digital News

　　At the recently held 2025 China Computing Power Conference, it was highlighted that China’s computing power infrastructure has made significant advances in both scale and capability. The computing power industry has now entered a new stage of high-quality, large-scale development. Recognized as a core quality force in the digital economy era, computing power can realize its full value and be genuinely transformed into productivity only when firmly rooted in the industry and deeply integrated with the real economy.

　　What is computing power? Computing power refers to the computing capability. It is a new form of productivity that integrates information calculation, network transmission, and data storage. It is primarily delivered to society through computing power infrastructure. Put simply, computing power is like a super-brain capable of processing massive amounts of data. Everyday activities such as online shopping, route navigation, or chatting with an AI assistant all rely on this invisible yet powerful “super-brain.” A professional metric for measuring computing power is FLOPS (floating-point operations per second). Currently, computing power is generally classified into three types: basic computing power, intelligent computing power, and supercomputing power. Among these, supercomputing power is the most powerful—capable of performing one quintillion floating-point operations per second (101？ FLOPS, or one exaflop). To put this in perspective, it is roughly equivalent to the entire global population of 8 billion people performing the computations continuously for nearly 40 years.

　　China’s computing power industry is among the world’s top leaders. In terms of scale, the country ranks second globally in total computing power. Its upstream and downstream industry chains are steadily being improved, supported by a strong foundation in key areas such as the number of standard racks in operational computing centers and the deployment of 400G backbone ports. From a structural standpoint, intelligent computing power has been advancing rapidly, reflecting a continuous improvement in the overall quality of China’s computing capabilities. Basic computing power, intelligent computing power, and supercomputing power correspond respectively to general-purpose computing, AI computing, and scientific and engineering computing. Previously, basic computing power dominated the landscape. But now intelligent computing power is steadily rising, indicating stronger capabilities for handling complex tasks. This optimized structure will be a crucial driver of digital transformation.

　　The key to transforming computing power into a productive force lies in its deep integration with the real economy. Computing power is often likened to a new form of electricity, but unlike electricity, it does not generate value simply by being available. When disconnected from real-world industrial scenarios, it becomes an “idle resource,” potentially resulting in inefficiency and waste. Many computing centers have been seriously underutilized in recent years, with machines left idle most of the time. A key reason is that, before construction, insufficient attention was paid to local industrial needs. Many projects blindly pursued short-term policy incentives and immediate returns. As a result, once completed, the lack of matching industrial demand led to idle computing power and frequent resource waste.

　　Industrial demand guides the development of computing power. Without being aligned with industry needs, computing power projects risk becoming directionless. Industrial applications act as a key test of computing power’s value, providing clear market guidance and practical scenarios for its evolution and upgrading. For instance, traditional manufacturing faces low efficiency and high energy consumption, driving demand for edge computing and intelligent computing power. By deploying edge computing nodes along production lines, the massive amounts of data collected by sensors can be processed in real time, while AI computing power optimizes production workflows, enabling intelligent manufacturing. Likewise, traditional agriculture, long dependent on weather, relies on computing support from satellite remote sensing and big data for pest and disease early warning, precision fertilization, and other targeted interventions. The upgrading and iteration of computing power technologies are largely fueled by these concrete industrial challenges.

　　Upgrading computing power not only drives industrial advancement but also breaks down traditional industry boundaries, fostering the emergence of new industries. As a core productive factor, computing power enables deep data processing, thus overcoming existing technological bottlenecks and continuing to unlock application scenarios that were previously unattainable. In this way, it helps transform emerging industries from concept into reality. On one hand, the upgrading of computing power fuels the emergence of new industries along the computing power value chain. For example, the explosive growth of AI computing power has spawned specialized sectors such as AI model training services and computing power leasing. On the other hand, the deep integration of computing power with traditional industries has given rise to new industries, including smart agriculture, the industrial Internet, and digital cultural and creative industries.

　　Ultimately, computing power must be grounded in the industrial ecosystem to truly deliver results. China’s computing power industry, currently at the forefront in both scale and technology, has built a solid foundation to support the transformation of the real economy. By aligning with industrial demand and leveraging the advantages of a large domestic market and diverse application scenarios, China can continue to advance and refine computing power technologies, ensuring they take root and fully serve as a powerful engine for its high-quality economic development.