Recently, China has called for the construction of the "six networks," including the water network, the new-type power grid, the computing power network, the next-generation communication network, the urban underground pipeline network and the logistics network.

This deployment covers both the upgrading of traditional infrastructure and the layout of new infrastructure, and is an important part of building a modern infrastructure system in the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030). What are the "six networks?"

The water network

China's water network is the largest in scale, most comprehensive in function, and benefits the largest population in the world. As of the end of 2025, the network covers 80.3% of the country's land area.

The network serve as a vast reservoir system, with approximately 95,000 reservoirs and dams providing a total storage capacity of over 1 trillion cubic meters.

The main framework and arteries of the national water network – formed by natural river systems and water diversion projects – are being continuously improved. As of May 14, 2026, the first phase of the eastern and middle routes of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project has diverted over 88 billion cubic meters of water, benefiting 195 million people.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, investment in water networks is expected to exceed 6 trillion yuan (about $886 billion).

The new-type power grid

The new-type power grid is based on backbone grids and distribution networks, supplemented by smart microgrids, forming a "backbone-distribution-micro" coordinated power grid system.

In terms of functional architecture, the new-type power grid strengthens inter-regional and inter-provincial connectivity and mutual support. China's total UHV transmission line length has exceeded 50,000 kilometers.

In terms of technological application, the new-type power grid extensively applies digital and intelligent technologies to enhance grid stability and address the challenges of integrating new energy sources.

In 2025, China's total electricity consumption exceeded 10 trillion kilowatt-hours for the first time. As of the end of 2025, the country's cumulative installed capacity of new energy surpassed 1.8 billion kilowatts.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, investment in the new-type power grid will exceed 5 trillion yuan. Fifteen UHV DC transmission corridors will be put into operation. The capacity for the West-to-East Power Transmission Project will reach over 420 million kilowatts. The capacity to accommodate distributed new energy will reach 900 million kilowatts. The grid will support more than 40 million charging infrastructure units.

The goal is to ensure that green electricity is "received reliably, transmitted smoothly, and utilized well," enabling safe, efficient and flexible power dispatch.

The computing power network

The computing power network connects computing facilities scattered across the country into a single network. 

As of the end of March 2026, China's total intelligent computing scale reached 1.88 million PFLOPS, which is equivalent to 18.8 trillion billion operations per second. Over 70 computing power corridors have been established, initially achieving a 20-millisecond latency circle for the eight national computing hub nodes.

This year, China's daily token call volume exceeded 140 trillion, which is more than 1,000 times that of two years ago. While total computing power capacity continues to increase and society's demand for computing power rises sharply, challenges remain, including disparities in computing power development across different regions and industries, as well as difficulties in cross-regional scheduling.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China will further advance the "East Data, West Computing" project and build a multi-level computing infrastructure system. The communication network and the power network will serve as operational support, while a unified computing power monitoring and scheduling platform will act as the intelligent hub.

The goal is to break down computing power barriers across regions and industries, promote seamless connectivity and efficient coordination of computing power resources nationwide, improve the utilization efficiency of computing power, and better empower all industries.

The next-generation communication network

The next-generation communication network is an integrated air-space-ground-sea network infrastructure system driven by next-generation communication technology innovation and new application demands, serving the digital and intelligent transformation of the economy and society.

It is globally leading in technology and the largest in scale. Currently, the total number of 5G base stations in China exceeds 5 million and the 5G-A network covers 330 cities. The total length of optical cable lines exceeds 74.99 million kilometers.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the "dual-gigabit" network will evolve toward "dual-ten-gigabit." A total of 500,000 5G-A base stations will be built. Additionally, 6G is expected to be commercially launched around 2030. Average efficiency and connectivity capacity will increase by more than ten times. Thousands of low-orbit satellites will be launched, effectively achieving integrated air-space-ground-sea coverage across the entire territory.

The next-generation communication network is expected to drive a total output of 7 trillion yuan across upstream and downstream industries, empowering high-quality development in the digital economy, the low-altitude economy, embodied intelligence, and beyond.

The urban underground pipeline network

China's urban underground pipeline network spans nearly 3.9 million kilometers, ranking first in the world. This includes approximately 1.199 million kilometers of water supply pipelines, about 1.04 million kilometers of gas pipelines, about 546,200 kilometers of heating pipelines, and about 993,600 kilometers of drainage pipelines.

However, some pipeline networks face challenges such as unclear inventory data, aging facilities and fragmented management, making it difficult to meet the needs of modern urban governance.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, new investment is expected to reach approximately 5 trillion yuan, with the construction and renovation of 770,000 kilometers of underground pipelines planned. The goal is to make the network smarter, safer and more resilient.

The logistics network

At peak times, up to 8,437 parcels are collected per second, and an average of 160 million tonnes of goods flow daily on transportation routes in China.

The country ranks first in the world in comprehensive freight volume, port throughput and express delivery indicators. The logistics market continues to lead globally. In 2025, the ratio of China's total social logistics costs to GDP fell to 13.9%, down from 14.9% ten years ago, indicating continuously improving logistics efficiency.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the completion rate of the main framework of China's comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network will reach 95%. Efforts will be made to address weaknesses in areas such as multimodal transport, cold-chain logistics, express logistics and bulk commodity logistics, further reducing the ratio of total social logistics costs to GDP.