This photo taken on Feb. 14, 2023 shows a view of the National Supercomputing Center in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. Photo: Xinhua

China set up its first national supercomputing internet platform on Thursday, blazing a new trail in the establishment of a powerful national supercomputing internet consortium.

Experts noted that this move will elevate the country's development in related technologies, provide strong support for AI-related industries and have a profound impact on the development of China's digital economy.

With the rapid development of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), China is placing higher demand on computing power. As an essential factor in academia, research and industry, supercomputing power is augmented by a network of local and global connectivity resources that enable the quick, safe and efficient transfer of large amounts of data.

The major goal is to form an efficient data transmission network among various computing centers, and to connect powerful computers across the country and effectively tap into their joint computing power to promote innovation and socioeconomic growth, domestic media outlets reported.

The first phase construction of the supercomputing internet platform has been completed, connecting more than 10 computing centers and more than 200 technical services providers, according to media reports.

China leads the world in supercomputing, supported by the 'country's institutional advantages, further boosting its global competitiveness, Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Computing power, like water and electricity, has become a core factor in building a digital China. It forms deep interconnectivity among multiple sectors such as smart manufacturing, smart cities and fintech. Experts said that breakthroughs in AI technology have generated an urgent demand for computing power.

The supercomputing internet will provide stable and efficient services for AI-related enterprises to promote the research and application of AI technology, Wang said, and it will raise innovation efficiency while lowering operating costs. 

The integration of strong computing power with economic advantages will further boost China's international competitiveness in the field of AI, he said.

For instance, China has made significant breakthroughs in chip design and manufacturing technology. With such advances, domestic enterprises are able to design and produce chips with high performance and low power consumption, which is crucial for enhancing the core competitiveness of computing power technology.

The digital economy has consistently been mentioned in the annual Government Work Report. As part of the efforts to increase the country's computing capacity and speed up the construction of new infrastructure, Chinese authorities have rolled out a plan for the overall layout of the country's digital development.

The plan noted that important progress will be made in the construction of a digital China by 2025, with effective interconnectivity in digital infrastructure, a significantly improved digital economy and major breakthroughs in digital technology innovation, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

China is building eight national computing hubs under an ambitious plan approved in 2022, along with 10 national data center clusters.

The Ministry of Science and Technology started the deployment for constructing a supercomputing internet in April 2023 in an effort to promote the integrated operation of supercomputing and form a technological advanced overall layout by 2025.