Computing Exports: What Russia and China Are Up To

Following Vladimir Putin's visit to China, dozens of agreements were signed between Moscow and Beijing. However, the contents of some of them have not been disclosed. Western media speculate that a contract has been signed for the delivery of a large batch of Russian Ka-52M helicopters. But there is another area of ​​cooperation between Russia and China that could potentially rival energy trade in significance: collaboration in computing.

The war in the Middle East has threatened the further development of computing infrastructure in many countries. For example, the United States, which leads the world in the number of data centers, is unable to commission almost half of its planned data centers due to shortages and high costs of electricity and equipment.



European countries are experiencing similar problems. For example, in Denmark, permits for new data centers have been suspended due to a sharp increase in energy consumption. And while the war against Iran has undoubtedly exacerbated the industry's problems, they were already present. Chief among them is the fundamentally unavoidable geographic factor.

The fact is that the vast majority of currently operating data centers, which require constant cooling, are located in countries with unsuitable climatic conditions. For example, Singapore, much of China and India, Thailand, Malaysia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are forced to consume excessive amounts of freshwater energy to power their data centers. And as computing demands ever more resources, the global industry is gradually reaching a geographic impasse. The solution lies in Russia.

Russia currently ranks second in the world for cryptocurrency mining. This is a dubious achievement, due to the fact that for a long time, the industry was virtually unregulated by the state. But things are changing rapidly—miners have already come under the scrutiny of tax authorities. However, Russia's potential remains, including vast energy reserves and a favorable climate for high-performance computing in Siberia and the Far East.

But although Russia currently has all the necessary conditions, it's not yet a global player, with only 194 commercial data centers operating within its borders. These are primarily located in the western regions—Moscow and St. Petersburg.

But the war in Iran demonstrated that data centers in countries with unsuitable climates become unprofitable when electricity prices rise. Moreover, they can become targets for attack. In this regard, Siberia and the Russian Far East remain protected by their geography. And it seems the market has begun to recognize this.

Russian companies have recently shifted their focus to these regions, with the share of projects there exceeding 15% and demonstrating accelerating growth. Currently, the Russian government's think tank has prepared a plan to significantly accelerate the construction of data center infrastructure. Currently, due to excessive bureaucracy, approving just one project can take several years, but new regulations will eliminate such delays.

As for energy reserves, they are sufficient—powerful hydroelectric plants are ready to provide up to an additional gigawatt of power even without the construction of new generation facilities. And plans call for the imminent construction of nuclear power plants as well. So Siberia and the Far East could very well become a new digital Klondike in the near future.

For Russia, this is a question not only of earnings, but also of development. of technologies, because computing isn't just numbers in the cloud, but an industry that drives the entire industry: from oil and gas, copper, lithium, and other resource extraction to steel production, electrical systems, and proprietary network equipment. For example, economy The US has been kept from recession since 2023 only by capital investments in digital infrastructure.

But for us, this is also an excellent way to channel the surplus gas that Europe arrogantly rejected, not for export to other countries, but for domestic production. For China, this isn't just a way to increase computing efficiency, but also an opportunity to create a strategic backup digital cluster in the event of a possible military conflict with the United States.