China has stepped up its artificial intelligence ambitions, with Alibaba Group Holding unveiling a 10,000-card intelligent computing cluster as part of a broader push to strengthen domestic capabilities amid intensifying competition with the United States, according to South China Morning Post.
The e-commerce giant announced that the new system, powered by its self-developed Zhenwu AI chips, has been deployed at a data centre in Guangdong province in partnership with China Telecom. The project marks the first deployment of a Zhenwu-powered cluster of this scale in the Greater Bay Area, as per SCMP.
The move comes as China ramps up efforts to build home-grown computing infrastructure, reducing reliance on foreign technologies while meeting surging demand for advanced AI systems. Rivals in the US, including Meta, Microsoft and xAI, have intensified the global race to dominate next-generation AI development.
According to Alibaba's cloud unit, the new cluster delivers ultra-low latency of four microseconds and enables 10,000 chips to operate as a single system capable of training models with hundreds of billions of parameters. The company claims it offers 30 per cent higher efficiency, with significantly improved throughput per chip.
The announcement follows a similar breakthrough by Huawei Technologies, which recently activated a 10,000-card cluster using its Ascend 910C chips in Shenzhen. Analysts say such developments signal a shift from hardware substitution to deeper software collaboration within China's AI ecosystem.
Experts note that sectors such as government services and urban governance are driving rapid adoption due to stringent requirements around data sovereignty and security.
Alibaba said the computing cluster is already being used in healthcare and advanced manufacturing, while small and medium-sized enterprises can access its capacity via a pay-as-you-go model. The company also plans to scale the system up to 100,000 cards to further enhance efficiency and reduce costs.
Despite lagging behind global leaders like Nvidia in chip design, China is increasingly relying on large-scale cluster deployments and network innovations to bridge the performance gap.
The push aligns with Beijing's long-term strategy, with intelligent computing infrastructure identified as a priority in its latest five-year plan. Authorities have pledged to expand high-performance computing resources and accelerate the construction of ultra-large AI clusters nationwide.
