China expands AI infrastructure as U.S. seeks to maintain lead

China is accelerating construction of data centers and energy infrastructure to support artificial intelligence, narrowing part of the gap with the United States in the physical systems behind the AI race. U.S. officials and analysts say the American advantage remains large, but they warn that faster buildout in China could matter if U.S. expansion slows. Stanford’s 2026 AI Index counted 5,427 data centers in the U.S. in 2025, compared with 449 in China, though the report noted that the figures do not reflect differences in size or computing capacity. The same index found the U.S. produced more notable AI models and attracted far more private AI investment than China, while also showing that the performance gap between leading models has narrowed. The article describes China’s efforts under its “East Data, West Computing” strategy, which shifts computing power toward western regions with more land and cheaper energy. U.S.China commission officials said China can build infrastructure quickly, while also noting that it still faces constraints in obtaining advanced chips. The broader competition is increasingly about electricity, data centers, chips, and network capacity, not just model quality.