In Davos debut, Musk highlights key China advantage in AI race

The economic benefits of China’s abundant and cheap supply of electricity were recognised by US tech billionaire Elon Musk and other speakers at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday.

As the United States and the European Union contemplate how to catch up, Tesla CEO Musk said the artificial intelligence (AI) industry was facing an energy bottleneck around the globe – with AI chips being produced rapidly and electricity output struggling to keep up – apart from the notable exception of China.

“It’s clear that … maybe later this year, we will be producing more chips than we can turn on,” Musk said during a conversation with Larry Fink, the CEO of investment company BlackRock, that marked his Davos debut. “Except for China: China’s growth in electricity is tremendous.”

Beijing added roughly 445 gigawatts of power capacity during the first 11 months of last year, according to data from its National Energy Administration, while the US Energy Information Administration projected that America would add 64GW of capacity for the whole year.

China’s energy supply edge was also at the heart of a panel discussion that saw European policymakers and industry leaders urge the EU to cut red tape, increase investment and diversify sources to bring down energy costs and remain competitive.

“We need speed, we are in a world [where we are] competing with China, which has one of the most affordable prices in energy,” Romanian Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan told the panel discussion on clean power in Europe.

South China Morning Post