Data Centers in China

China – Scale and Power for a Global Market

Executive Summary

China is the definitive market for companies requiring immense scale to serve one of the world's largest domestic digital economies. Its vast data center footprint, concentrated in primary economic hubs, provides the infrastructure needed to deliver low-latency services to over a billion internet users. Success here depends on navigating a unique regulatory environment, but the commercial opportunity is unmatched.

China: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

China's digital infrastructure is a market of massive scale, designed primarily to serve its vast domestic population with increasing international reach.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: With over 20 network providers and 115 data centers, the market offers significant choice, particularly within carrier-neutral facilities in major hubs, as of September 2025.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: The ecosystem includes 4 dedicated cloud on-ramps providing direct, private access to 2 major cloud availability regions, as of September 2025. This ensures secure, high-performance connectivity for hybrid architectures. Available providers include:

• AWS

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): Public peering is less common than in other markets. Most traffic is exchanged via private peering within data centers or through national exchanges located in key digital hubs like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

Bare Metal: Bare metal server deployments are readily available for workloads requiring dedicated, high-performance compute. Providers such as Hivelocity and Leaseweb offer solutions in the region.

Power Analysis

Power infrastructure in China is extensive and built to support its massive industrial and digital economy.

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial electricity pricing is highly competitive, averaging US$0.08/kWh as of Q2 2025. This cost advantage is a significant factor for large-scale deployments. The national energy mix is dominated by fossil fuels (around 65%), with a substantial and growing share from renewables (30%) and nuclear (5%).

Power Grid Reliability: The power grid is well-engineered and reliable in the primary data center corridors of Beijing, Shanghai, and the Shenzhen-Guangzhou area. Facilities in these top-tier markets are typically supported by redundant substations and diverse power feeds to ensure high uptime.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Locating in China provides direct access to one of the largest and most dynamic digital consumer and business markets on the planet.

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers are strategically clustered near China's primary economic engines. This includes the Yangtze River Delta (Shanghai), the Pearl River Delta (Shenzhen, Guangzhou), and the Beijing-Tianjin metropolitan area, putting infrastructure close to finance, manufacturing, and technology centers.

Regional Market Reach: The infrastructure effectively serves mainland China's enormous population. For international businesses, these facilities are the necessary foothold for delivering services within the country's regulatory framework, acting as a gateway to hundreds of millions of end-users.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: China does not offer specific tax incentives for data center development or operation. The primary financial advantage comes from the immense market opportunity and scale, not government tax relief.

Natural Disaster Risk

China has a Low overall disaster risk profile, with an INFORM Risk score of 3 out of 10 as of September 2025. While the composite national risk is low, the country's vast size means specific regions face significant exposure to certain natural hazards.

Key risks to consider based on hazard scores:

• River Flood: 9.3/10
• Tsunami: 9.0/10
• Coastal Flood: 9.0/10
• Tropical Cyclone: 7.8/10
• Earthquake: 6.7/10