PBOC Research Bureau director Wang Xin said global water consumption by compute
centers has risen rapidly. In China compute-center water use still represents a
small share of total national water use, but structural strains are emerging.
Recommended measures include strengthening water metering, monitoring, data
verification and disclosure; promoting water‑saving technologies and improving
resource‑efficiency evaluation for green data centers; using water pricing to
better allocate resources; and deploying green finance to support coordinated
development of AI and water resources.
