A central part of this competition is AI data centers, also called “AI factories.” Unlike traditional data centers, these sprawling facilities house a high density of specialized AI chips known as graphics processing units, or GPUs. Beijing, meanwhile, is recalibrating—scaling back its once-frenzied data center investment boom amid a slowing economy, industrial overcapacity and a fast-changing tech landscape. Despite concerns over market concentration, security risks and environmental costs, America’s AI infrastructure development shows no sign of slowing. Unlike traditional infrastructure, AI data centers depreciate rapidly and require constant reinvestment to keep pace with advances in hardware and model design. Many of China’s data centers in its western regions were built for model training just as the demand shifted toward inference.