In a recent announcement, officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in China emphasized an accelerating agenda for advancing computational power connectivity and cultivating a robust computational market. This initiative aims to establish a comprehensive framework of standards and norms for the coordinated development of computation networks, thereby boosting the integration of computational resources and hastening the creation of a unified national computational service market.

At its core, computational power is the foundational element that underpins the growth of the digital economy. It acts as a catalyst that unlocks the potential of data elements while driving the digital transformation across various sectors. As we navigate a new era marked by technological rejuvenation and industrial innovation, computational power has ingrained itself in numerous aspects of socio-economic advancement. Industries such as technology, energy, transportation, healthcare, and finance are increasingly reliant on computational power, likening its importance to that of electricity during the Industrial Revolution. It has emerged as a central driving force poised to revolutionize human productivity, lifestyle, and governance. According to measurements conducted by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, each yuan invested in computational power could potentially generate an economic growth of three to four yuan in GDP. Thus, the development of computational power has swiftly transitioned into a vital metric for assessing the quality of economic growth in regions and nations globally, becoming a pivotal mechanism for countries seeking to secure competitive advantages and establish dominance in tech innovations.

In the face of fierce international rivalry, the acceleration of the computational power domain in China is not merely an option but a necessity. Over the past few years, a preliminary industrial chain focusing on computational power has taken shape, accompanied by rapid growth in the industry, which has seen an average annual growth rate exceeding 30% over the last five years. Moreover, China has achieved a prominent standing in this sector, with over 13,000 innovative application cases encompassing areas such as industry, finance, and transportation.

However, the journey towards advancing computational capabilities is fraught with challenges. Significant gaps remain in core technologies, particularly in high-end chips and high-performance computing. The distribution and utilization of computational resources are inconsistent, leading to structural imbalances in development. Additionally, the alignment between supply and demand lacks sufficient maturity, as a unified computational service market has yet to fully materialize. Coordination between computational networks and centralized operational capabilities still requires enhancement. A pressing concern is the environmental impact and energy consumption spurred by the rise of computational power; electricity usage is soaring, paralleling the increasing scale of operations. Moving forward, there is an urgent need to adopt a problem-focused strategy that comprehensively plans and systematically develops a nationwide integrated computational system. This involves anticipating the demands for digital infrastructure, improving the efficiency of resource allocation and scheduling, refining the development structure, and diversifying resource supply—all while maximizing the contribution of computational power to economic growth.

Innovation must propel computational technology to address existing bottlenecks. By fostering close collaboration among government entities, industry organizations, enterprises, and research institutions, the focus should lie on nurturing talent and enhancing research and development efforts. Educational institutions, research institutes, and select enterprises should boost their research investments in advanced computational technologies and core components. An emphasis on overcoming critical technological obstacles—such as those concerning the manufacturing of computational chips, architectural design, and operation systems—will lay the groundwork for original innovative techniques in foundational constructs like high-performance computing and quantum and neuromorphic computing. These initiatives can catalyze integrations across foundational fields, including communications, big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence.

The initiative must also emphasize the development of a diverse and ubiquitous infrastructure for computational power. Accelerating the construction of an integrated national computational network is crucial alongside optimizing the layout of computational infrastructure. This denotes a concerted effort to facilitate seamless data interaction across different networks, regions, and enterprises. The "East Data West Computing" project offers a pathway to enhance the establishment of key national computational nodes and data center clusters. As demand for computational resources evolves, structuring a balanced allocation of these resources and fostering smart computational centers will become increasingly essential. This will involve surmounting the challenges posed by variations in intelligent and supercomputational power deployments to create an efficient infrastructure. Innovative new models for providing computational resources must also be explored, focusing on accurate matching of supply and demand while constructing a network capable of aggregating resources, sensing requirements, and scientifically regulating operations. The goal is to propel a unified market for computational services.

Finally, emphasis must be placed on promoting green and energy-efficient development of computational resources. A multi-faceted approach will bolster the synergy between computational power and electricity consumption. Integration efforts should also seek to merge next-generation information technologies with eco-friendly innovations, expediting research into energy-saving technologies and power dispatching that effectively address the high energy consumption challenges associated with computational power. Significantly, tapping into sustainable energy sources, such as wind and solar power in western regions, can lay the groundwork for a direct supply model that connects renewable energy with computational demand. The aim is to ensure that data centers can efficiently utilize clean energy, shifting from "green electricity" to "green computation." Utilizing environmentally friendly construction materials, energy-efficient technologies, and intelligent management systems will foster the emergence of green, low-carbon, and smart computational centers while ideally situating data centers in regions with ample natural cooling resources and renewable energy sources.