China allocates 490 billion euro to networks and computing power

China has placed telecom infrastructure, computing power and artificial intelligence at the center of its industrial strategy for the next five years. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published the 15th five-year plan for 2026-2030, according to Corriere Comunicazioni.

The plan commits 490 billion euro in cumulative investment and sets a target of 9 800 Eflops of computing capacity for AI by 2030. On the mobile front, the goal is 95 percent 5G penetration. Research, standardisation and pilot work on 6G will proceed in parallel.

Network architecture will shift in two directions: the build-out of 5G Advanced, and nodes that integrate edge computing into clusters of up to 100 000 accelerators. This second point is economically significant. It shows China's strategy does not rely solely on mega-scale. It also assumes a dense network of smaller computing sites closer to users.

The plan projects revenue of around 525 billion euro, tracked through thirteen indicators and six lines of action. Named initiatives include "East Data, West Computing", which moves computing loads to regions with cheaper energy, and "AI + Information Communication".

This plan must be read alongside a second thread: the global debate over the pace of model development. As Corriere Comunicazioni notes, Anthropic chief Dario Amodei's call to consider a moratorium on the most powerful systems fits into a dispute where safety and technological advantage are inseparable. A pause at the frontier of capability would require deciding which systems face restrictions, based on what parameters, and how compliance is verified. It would also mean bringing military and intelligence activities under control, which is far more difficult.

Chinese industrial policy therefore presents a double challenge for Europe. First, it sets an investment scale against which European programmes look modest. Second, it shows that the future order around AI will be decided not only by model quality, but by the number of accelerators, kilometres of network and megawatts of power that someone manages to connect.

The plan rests on thirteen indicators and six strategic directions. Its focus is not individual models but the infrastructure layer. Fifth-generation networks are to reach 95 percent penetration, while the plan provides for 5G Advanced, research and standardisation work on the sixth generation, and edge computing. Computing clusters will be built as nodes of up to 100 000 accelerators.

The infrastructure itself is also meant to become an export product. Beijing expects sector revenue to reach around 525 billion euro. The slogans "Data in the east, computing in the west" and "AI plus connectivity" describe how computing capacity is to be spread between energy-rich western provinces and industrial centres in the east.

The scale of the Chinese plan contrasts with the pace of debate elsewhere. Where the United States and Europe argue over moratoria and model safeguards, Beijing answers with a multi-year investment plan spread over five years. The difference in planning horizon becomes a competitive advantage in itself.