China is rapidly building vast data centres in rural Inner Mongolia to supply the computing power needed for its artificial-intelligence ambitions. The expansion matters because AI has become central to the country’s economic and national-security competition with the United States, while both governments consider how the technology should be regulated.

Ulanqab, once known mainly as China’s potato capital, is attracting construction, engineers and returning researchers, with Beijing aiming to embed AI across 90% of industries and society by 2030. China is also promoting cheaper, open-source AI models to compensate for limited access to advanced chips and encourage rapid innovation, while seeking greater influence over global AI rules amid US concerns about Chinese technological progress.