Data Centers in China

China – Digital Gateway to the World's Largest Market

Executive Summary

China's digital infrastructure is built for massive scale, serving organizations that require direct, low-latency access to the world's largest domestic consumer market. With over 115 data center facilities, this market provides the essential footprint for technology, e-commerce, and financial services companies to deliver applications and services efficiently across the mainland. Deploying in China is fundamental for any business aiming to capture significant revenue and user engagement within the country.

China: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: The market provides access to over 20 network providers, as of September 2025. While state-owned carriers dominate, a growing number of carrier-neutral facilities offer diverse connectivity options, which is critical for building resilient network architectures.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: With over 4 dedicated cloud on-ramps, businesses can establish private, high-performance connections to 2 major cloud regions, as of September 2025. This enables secure hybrid cloud strategies and improves application performance. Direct access is available for:

• AWS

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): Public peering is less common than in other global markets. Most high-volume traffic exchange occurs through private interconnection within major data center facilities or directly between the dominant state-owned telecommunications providers.

Bare Metal: Bare metal cloud solutions are readily available from multiple providers. These services offer the dedicated performance needed for demanding workloads like databases, analytics, and AI. Providers like Hivelocity and phoenixNAP offer solutions in the region.

Power Analysis

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial power is competitively priced at an average of US$0.08/kWh, as of Q2 2025. This attractive rate helps manage operational expenditures for high-density deployments and large-scale infrastructure. The national energy mix is approximately 65% fossil fuels, 30% renewables, and 5% nuclear.

Power Grid Reliability: Power infrastructure in China's primary economic zones is well-engineered and reliable. Data centers in major markets like Shanghai and Beijing are typically supported by redundant grids and multiple substations, ensuring high levels of uptime for critical operations.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers are strategically located within or near China's Tier 1 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen area. This proximity provides low-latency connectivity to the country's core financial, technology, and manufacturing hubs.

Regional Market Reach: A presence in China offers direct access to its domestic market of over a billion internet users. Colocation here is essential for serving this vast and growing digital economy effectively.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: There are no significant national tax incentives specifically for data center construction or operation. The primary financial advantage is not a tax credit but the strategic imperative of market access, which provides an unparalleled opportunity for revenue growth.

Natural Disaster Risk

China has a low overall disaster risk profile, with a national INFORM Risk score of 3 out of 10, as of September 2025. However, due to its vast size, risk levels vary significantly by region.

Key natural hazard risks are concentrated geographically. The highest-rated risks for the country include:

• River Flood
• Tsunami
• Coastal Flood
• Tropical Cyclone
• Earthquake

Organizations should conduct site-specific risk assessments, as coastal and southern regions face higher exposure to cyclones and flooding, while other areas have notable seismic risk.