Elon Musk, who’s obsessed with electricity and energy, acknowledged China’s position in power generation. After all, electricity is almost impossible to store effectively, so whatever is generated has to be used immediately. The more electricity generated, the more it reflects industrial capacity to consume it. Musk said that power generation is the best single indicator of industrial productivity. But with China generating so much electricity, where is it all being used? How does it compare to the seemingly power-hungry AI industry globally? Here’s a fun fact: the company that consumes the most electricity in China is Weiqiao Group, a private enterprise based in Shandong. Its main businesses are textiles and electrolytic aluminum, and it uses 100 billion kWh of electricity annually—1% of the country’s total electricity consumption, equivalent to an entire year’s electricity usage for a medium-sized country. Now, let’s look at the AI industry, which currently seems to be the most power-starved. According to estimates from the International Energy Agency, AI computing power will account for 20% of global data center electricity consumption by 2025, reaching 80 billion kWh. Yep, a private company in Shandong, China, consumes more electricity than the global AI computing power. This also explains why China’s AI industry can still rise to the challenge despite chip export restrictions. As long as a bit of electricity can be squeezed out and invested into computing power, it can achieve great results. This post is sponsored by Weiqiao Group and complies with Mr. Musk’s latest disclosure requirements