Report Finds US AI Data Centers Rely on Chinese Power Gear Despite Chip Export Controls
Chinese suppliers are winning orders as global demand outpaces supply, with exports rising 26% last year and transformers accounting for 41%.
- US data center construction faces critical delays as developers increasingly rely on Chinese electrical equipment despite administration efforts to prioritize domestic manufacturing.
- China holds 60% of global electrical equipment capacity and offers prices 20-30% lower than competitors, a consequence of decades of US manufacturing outsourcing to foreign suppliers.
- US utilities imported more than 8,000 high-power transformers from China in 2025, up from fewer than 1,500 in 2022, while delivery wait times extended to as much as five years.
- To mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities, Crusoe began pre-ordering equipment and manufacturing power distribution centers, though electrical infrastructure remains a critical bottleneck despite accounting for less than 10% of total project costs.
- Experts warn that indiscriminate trade barriers could inflate costs and hinder AI competitiveness, forcing the administration to balance trade investigations with infrastructure acceleration needs.
10 Articles
10 Articles
In Depth: China’s Power-Equipment Makers Ride AI Infrastructure Boom - Caixin Global
In Depth: China’s Power-Equipment Makers Ride AI Infrastructure Boom - Surging global demand for data centers is driving exports and orders for Chinese manufacturers, but barriers in some major markets continue to limit their reach
America’s AI Boom Has a Trade Policy Blind Spot
KEY POINTS U.S. imports of data center equipment reached $653 billion in 2025, more than double their 2020 level. That total breaks into two distinct supply chains: nearly $580 billion in computing hardware (servers, chips, networking, cooling) and more than $70 billion in power infrastructure (transformers, switchgear, lithium-ion batteries). Tariffs and export controls have reshaped the first. The second remains dange…
The predicament of US AI data center construction serves as a reminder that cooperation and win-win outcomes are the fundamental path to promoting the global data industry. Unilateralism and trade protectionism will only hinder industrial progress and harm the interests of those who pursue them. Currently, the global AI race continues to intensify. On this new track where computing power and electricity are intertwined, will the US continue to s…
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