China Mobile bets on Hong Kong as gateway for global computing flows

he push to link Hong Kong more closely with mainland computing resources reflects China’s broader ambitions in artificial intelligence.

Photo: Handout China Mobile has invested nearly HK$10 billion (US$1.28 billion) over five years to help turn Hong Kong into a global computing hub, integrating the city into China’s national network.

The world’s largest telecoms operator by subscribers on Wednesday opened a new data centre in northern Hong Kong and said it would step up investment in next-generation submarine cables.

The state-owned group aims to bring Hong Kong into China’s national computing network, which has the world’s second-largest computing capacity, behind only the United States. “We will actively promote the full integration of Hong Kong’s computing power into the national network, making the city an important node in the global computing layout,” said Chen Zhongyue, executive director and chairman of China Mobile, at the centre’s inauguration event in Fo Tan.

The project, which began construction in 2021, is China Mobile’s second data centre in Hong Kong.

Its first, launched in 2014 in Tseung Kwan O, serves as a submarine cable landing station and international network hub that supports cross-border data exchange.

Together, the two facilities have a combined capacity of more than 13,000 server racks.

The push to link Hong Kong more closely with mainland computing resources reflects China’s broader ambitions in artificial intelligence.

The city borders Shenzhen, one of China’s premier innovation and technology centres, home to major global firms such as Huawei, Tencent, DJI and BYD.

Authorities plan to use Hong Kong as a gateway to channel mainland computing power to overseas markets, while easing domestic capacity constraints and improving the efficiency of a rapidly expanding but fragmented data centre network. “Over the next five years, Hong Kong is expected to become a key gateway connecting the mainland with the global digital economy,” said Leung Chun-ying, vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

Authorities plan to use Hong Kong as a gateway to channel mainland computing power to overseas markets.

Photo: Shutterstock Images He added that Hong Kong would need to strengthen its alignment with national development strategies, as sectors such as finance, the internet, AI, biomedicine and autonomous driving all relied on high-performance computing.

According to Leung, the new data centre would connec

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