While many Americans resist, China embraces AI data center boom

November 12, 2026 / 12:11 PM EST / CBS News

Ulanqab, China — Off a major highway on the outskirts of Ulanqab, in the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia, Hereford cows roam through corn fields scouring the ground for any dried up remains of the recent harvest.

Hovering over the landscape are shiny new transmission towers linked by power cables that stretch along the plateau for as far as the eye can see. On the ridgeline, covered in snow, wind turbines spin, taking full advantage of the ever-blowing wind.

The energy pulsing from the remote Chinese region — a combination of renewables and fossil fuels — will soon power multi-story data centers being constructed on farmland as part of a sprawling AI data center construction boom.

The construction site is the size of a small American city. It is the biggest, and fastest growing infrastructure project anywhere in China right now.

This corner of Inner Mongolia was famous for generations for growing potatoes. Now, it's fast becoming an AI hub, and Chinese officials hope the expansive, rugged landscape will help power the country's ambition to surpass the U.S. as the global leader in artificial intelligence.

Baletu, a 72-year-old farmer, who…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/