China wants in on U.S. AI data center boom. Here's why

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China and the U.S. may be competing for dominance in artificial intelligence, but some Chinese manufacturers are eyeing the U.S. data center buildout as an opportunity.

"We can see very big potential in the U.S. market," said S.K. Lee, a global vice president with Singapore-registered Brightray, an AI infrastructure company. "The China market is equally important, but we can see that there's a stronger demand in the U.S."

Brightray's sole manufacturer is Chinese firm PrefabDC, which makes prefabricated data centers. Brightray manages the construction of the buildouts.

Even with public backlash over the AI data center buildout growing, the U.S. boasts more AI data centers than any other country, with 5,427 in 2025, according to data published by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. China had 449, according to the same report.

U.S. tech giants like Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon are estimated to spend around $765 billion combined this year on AI infrastructure. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently said that figure could hit $1 trillion next year.

Chinese companies like Alibaba have committed far less. But the Chinese government has outlined plans to invest $295 billion to build data centers over the next five years, though it's still a far cry from U.S. private-sector investment.

"Chinese companies just are not generating as much revenues from their AI services," said Jeffrey Ding, AI expert and assistant professor at The George Washington University. "And that's one of the reasons why they're not able to invest in these enormous data center buildouts that their competitors in the U.S. are doing."

Ding said the deeper issue is "there is not as much demand for the AI services."

China's President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive for a military review in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Sept. 24, 2026.

Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images

But the relationship between the rivals remains fraught.