China's Electricity Dominance Raises Alarms in Global AI Race
American engineer and futurist Peter H. Diamandis has recently sounded the alarm about China's staggering electricity generation capabilities, revealing that the Asian giant now produces 40% more power than the United States and European Union combined. In a social media post that gained significant traction after being reshared by billionaire Elon Musk, Diamandis emphasized the strategic implications of this energy gap, stating, "China is generating 40% more electricity than the US & EU combined. In the global race where energy = intelligence, we need to start waking up."
Growing Concerns Among Technology Experts
Diamandis is not alone in his assessment. Earlier this week, another American engineer, Rubén Domínguez Ibar, issued a similar warning through his social media channels. He highlighted that China continues to scale its electricity generation at an unprecedented pace unmatched by any other economic bloc. Domínguez Ibar further noted that when compared to China's explosive growth, US electricity output appears relatively flat over the past decade, creating what experts now identify as a critical vulnerability.
These concerns center around the fundamental reality that electricity has become the primary bottleneck for multiple transformative technologies including artificial intelligence systems, advanced manufacturing facilities, data center operations, and re-industrialization efforts. The warnings echo previous statements from prominent technology leaders who have been monitoring this developing situation for some time.
Tech Titans Echo Power Concerns
Both Elon Musk and Nvidia's Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang have previously highlighted China's growing advantage in power infrastructure. They've emphasized that the country's world-beating electricity network could provide a significant strategic edge over the United States in the intensifying competition to dominate artificial intelligence development globally.
During a conversation with BlackRock Inc CEO Larry Fink at the World Economic Forum on January 22, Musk specifically addressed the limitations facing AI deployment, stating, "The limiting factor for AI deployment is fundamentally electrical power." He added a particularly striking prediction: "Very soon, maybe even later this year, we'll be producing more chips than we can turn on, except for China." Musk, whose company xAI is currently building data centers across the United States, acknowledged that China's growth in electricity generation has been nothing short of tremendous.
The Data Center Power Divide
According to detailed analysis from Bloomberg, the power demands of data centers reveal a significant disparity between the two nations. Between 2024 and 2030, data centers in the United States are projected to account for nearly 38% of the country's growth in electricity demand. In stark contrast, China's data centers are expected to contribute just 6% to its electricity demand growth during the same period.
Looking ahead to 2030, projections indicate that data centers will command approximately 7% of total US power demand, compared to only 2% in China. This differential highlights how China's massive overall electricity generation capacity provides it with substantial headroom for technological expansion that the United States currently lacks.
China's Unprecedented Power Expansion
Recent data underscores the scale of China's electricity dominance. According to Bloomberg reports, since 2021 alone, China has added more power capacity across all energy technologies than the United States has in its entire history. This includes an astonishing 543 gigawatts (GW) added in 2025 alone, according to figures from China's National Energy Administration.
The expansion shows no signs of slowing. Over the next five years, China is projected to add over 3.4 terawatts of electricity generation capacity - nearly six times what the United States is expected to add during the same period. In 2025, China's electricity consumption, a crucial indicator of economic activity, surpassed the 10 trillion kilowatt-hour mark for the first time, further cementing its position as the world's energy superpower.
Beijing continues this aggressive expansion through massive deployments across multiple energy sources, including renewable technologies like solar and wind power, alongside traditional sources such as coal, nuclear, and natural gas facilities.
Industry Warnings About US Lagging Behind
In May 2025, Silicon Valley-based artificial intelligence firm Anthropic issued a stark warning about the United States falling behind China in electricity generation capacity. The company, which develops the Claude large language models, stated that the US AI industry would need at least 50 gigawatts of power capacity by 2028 to maintain its global leadership position, describing the growing gap with China as "worrying."
Anthropic specifically urged Washington policymakers to address regulatory hurdles that are slowing down power infrastructure projects across the country. Citing a February 2025 report by the Australian think tank Climate Energy Finance, the company noted that while China added approximately 400 gigawatts of power capacity in the previous year, the United States managed to add only about one-tenth of that amount.
These collective warnings from engineers, technology leaders, and industry experts paint a concerning picture of an emerging power divide that could reshape the global technological landscape. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly central to economic and strategic competition, electricity generation capacity is emerging as the critical infrastructure that may determine which nations lead in the coming decades.
