Means of empowerment

China's new infrastructure development provides valuable lessons for other developing countries

The latest wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation, particularly the rise of artificial intelligence, has sparked a global surge in infrastructure investment. In recent years, China has consistently increased its investment in new infrastructure, with investment in the internet and related services growing by 39.9 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2026, and information transmission investment rising by 25.6 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

By the end of June, China had built 5.102 million 5G base stations, establishing the world's largest information and communication network and a nationwide computing power infrastructure system, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. This new infrastructure is not only a crucial engine for stabilizing growth but also a new hallmark of China's development in the digital age.

The achievements of China's new infrastructure development are evident in both scale and quality. In the communication network sector, China's 5G network leads globally, with 5G and gigabit optical networks integrated into 94 categories of the national economy. In the realm of computing power, the "Eastern Data and Western Computing" project has been deeply implemented, with the growth rate of intelligent computing power far exceeding the global average. In the green and low-carbon sector, by the end of 2025, the average power usage effectiveness of China's ultra-large computing facilities had dropped to 1.34, and over 80 percent of the new data centers at national hub nodes were powered by green energy, demonstrating a synergistic path of computing power growth and green transition.

The empowering effects of new infrastructure are continuously being unleashed, profoundly transforming China's production and lifestyle from factory workshops to mining and ports, urban governance to rural revitalization, and consumer entertainment to public welfare. According to estimates by the National Bureau of Statistics, new drivers of growth, represented by high-end manufacturing, the digital economy and modern services, contributed over 40 percent to economic growth in the first half of the year, highlighting the foundational support role of new infrastructure as a base for these new drivers.

China has accumulated a series of effective and valuable experiences in advancing new infrastructure construction, which are worthy of serious consideration by countries worldwide as the global demand for new infrastructure grows.

First, adhering to planning guidance and coordinated advancement.

New infrastructure construction involves significant investment, long cycles and a wide scope. China leverages its institutional advantages to implement top-level design. The 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25)outlined the strategic task of accelerating new infrastructure construction, and the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) proposes appropriately advancing construction of new infrastructure, detailing work approaches in areas such as integrated computing networks, satellite internet, information communication networks, data infrastructure and low-altitude infrastructure. This continuous planning and deployment maintains policy continuity and stability while keeping pace with technological development and industry demand, ensuring the systematic, forward-looking and coordinated construction of new infrastructure.

Second, combining an effective market with a proactive government.

China's new infrastructure development has formed a pattern of diverse stakeholders participating together. The government focuses on supporting projects with strong foundational, public and spillover effects, actively guiding social capital into key areas such as new infrastructure through tools such as special bonds, real estate investment trusts, and industrial investment funds. Reforms in monopoly industries create conditions for private economic entry. For instance, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has stated that it will further promote the opening of telecommunications services to private capital and support private enterprises, participating in data centers, satellite internet, the construction of 5G and industrial internet in various ways.

Third, pursuing simultaneous construction and utilization, and promoting construction through use.

China consistently adheres to the demand-oriented and application-driven approach, integrating the cultivation of application scenarios throughout the construction process to drive construction through application and promote application through construction. From the initial commercialization of 5G, China has simultaneously advanced industry application pilot demonstrations, expanding from the consumer internet to the industrial internet and extending services from individuals to production empowerment. The construction of computing power infrastructure does not blindly pursue installation scale. In 2023, the action plan for the high-quality development of computing power infrastructure was issued, emphasizing demand-driven and strengthened empowerment, and promoting the deep integration of the digital economy with the real economy.

Fourth, championing open cooperation for mutual benefit.

China consistently promotes new infrastructure construction with an open and inclusive mindset, avoiding closed, exclusive small circles. The country continues to expand its openness, conducting open trials of value-added telecommunications business in Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan and Shenzhen, allowing foreign enterprises to operate internet data center businesses independently in pilot areas. High-quality construction of the Digital Silk Road is underway, with cross-border optical cable infrastructure being built with partners. The 2Africa submarine cable, the world's largest transoceanic submarine cable system, connects 33 countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe, benefiting approximately 3 billion people and helping developing countries address digital infrastructure shortfalls.

As a developing country, China faces several challenges in advancing new infrastructure construction: there are still shortcomings in some key core technologies, and construction and application levels are uneven between regions and between urban and rural areas. Small and medium-sized enterprises face high integration and application costs, and new challenges have arisen in data and network security. To address these issues, China is intensifying efforts to tackle key core technologies, leveraging the advantages of a new national system to overcome "bottleneck" problems; continuously advancing inclusive new infrastructure construction to narrow regional and urban-rural gaps; issuing supportive policies to reduce the digital transformation costs for small and medium-sized enterprises and cultivating more grounded application scenarios; and coordinating development and security to improve the network and data security governance system.

The practice of China's new infrastructure construction offers valuable insights for countries worldwide, especially developing countries, to advance development transformation.

First, new infrastructure requires forward planning.

Infrastructure is a key pioneer for economic and social development, especially in the digital age. For many developing countries, seizing the historical opportunity of the new technological revolution and appropriately advancing new infrastructure construction is an important choice for achieving leapfrog development. The gap in traditional infrastructure may take decades to catch up, but new infrastructure offers the possibility of "overtaking on the bend".

Second, new infrastructure has public characteristics.

New infrastructure should not be a luxury for a few enterprises or individuals but should be a public good benefiting all people. In promoting new infrastructure construction, China pays special attention to extending it to rural areas, grassroots and underdeveloped regions. Remote medical care now covers all counties nationwide, and the new infrastructure is becoming important support for promoting common prosperity. This highlights to countries worldwide that digital and intelligent transformation should allow the fruits of technological development to benefit all people more fairly.

Third, new infrastructure requires systematic integration.

New infrastructure does not exist in isolation but is deeply integrated with traditional infrastructure and the real economy. Countries advancing new infrastructure construction should not build networks or buy equipment in isolation but should focus on system integration and integrated application to fully leverage the multiplier effect of new infrastructure.

Fourth, new infrastructure has global characteristics.

Leading countries have a responsibility to help developing countries enhance their new infrastructure levels. All countries should abandon zero-sum thinking and engage in practical cooperation in standard-setting, technology research, and development and application promotion, allowing new technologies represented by AI to be shared and governed by all countries, benefiting all nations fairly. Countries should work together to build a more inclusive, win-win global development community with a shared future.

The author is an associate researcher at the Institute of Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.