China’s Bid for Smart Cities: Mastering the City Brain

In May 2024, China issued guidelines for the development of smart cities to achieve digital transformation in urban life by 2027. This has been further cited in the recommendations for the formulation of the 15th Year Plan, as the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has proposed: “We [China] should continue to tap the full potential of cities, make a strong push to advance urban renewal, and build people-centered modern cities that are innovative, livable, beautiful, resilient, culturally rich, and smart.”

Officially, the Chinese government initially used the term “safe city,” which evolved into the term “smart city” and was even used together as “smart safe city.” In China’s smart city policy, the security dimension remains the key focus in a broad sense (including both safety and security dimensions from fire risks to terrorist threats). Chinese companies are positioning themselves as offering solutions—such as NORINCO, the military contractor, which is adding smart city in its portfolio of products using the term ‘Safe and Smart City’; and there is a centralised approach to urban planning—with the central government identifying the pilot smart cities and the local governments implementing it. China's significant investments in security networks have led to the development of the world's largest surveillance system, characterised by the highest number of CCTVs. As noted, by 2018, there were already about 200 million surveillance cameras in China, and by 2021, the number was expected to reach 560 million. In the Chinese perspective, as Naifei Sun, Senior Associate Principal of SOM City Design Practice in Shanghai, argues, “Smart city development is a critical step for China’s urban centres as they pursue digital transformation and a new wave of productivity” and “[i]t lays the foundation for a more efficient, intelligent system of governance for our megacities.”

As noted, by 2018, there were already about 200 million surveillance cameras in China, and by 2021, the number was expected to reach 560 million.

While the recent numbers of China’s smart cities remain unknown, a 2018 Deloitte report noted that over 1,000 smart cities were in planning or development worldwide, with China leading the list with around 500 pilot cities, followed by the United States (US), Europe, and India. By 2016, China had 542 pilot smart cities under development and by 2018, the smart cities developed in concrete terms were closer to 400. Furthermore, smart cities are not only limited to domestic policy, but Beijing is also promoting and installing its smart city technologies around the world. A 2020 study by American experts identified 398 reported cases of 34 different Chinese firms exporting smart cities technologies through involvement in smart cities development projects in a total of 106 countries.

In building this modern infrastructure, China has been emphasising the creation of City Brain (城市大脑) for future cities and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based digital twins for the management of the smart city. ‘City brain’, the core of today’s smart cities, is an intricate web of technologies—AI, big data, cloud computing, IoT, blockchain, digital twins, and augmented reality (AR). On 31 March 2025, China launched City Brain 3.0, which is based on the AI DeepSeek-R1 model. This initiative aims to improve city patrolling and traffic management. It incorporates a smart grid for ultra-high voltage (UHV) transmission and features a sponge city design (海绵城市) for flood prevention and carbon absorption, all integrated within the City Brain system. Additionally, China is investing in developing what it calls a ‘digital village’ (数字乡村) with technology-led agriculture, 5G penetration, and a rural cyberculture initiative. In May 2024, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs under the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission released the Digital Village Development Guidelines 2.0.

‘City brain’, the core of today’s smart cities, is an intricate web of technologies—AI, big data, cloud computing, IoT, blockchain, digital twins, and augmented reality (AR).

A smart city leverages AI, cloud computing, IoT, cameras, drones, and sensors, which have significant applications in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). These high-tech infrastructure benefits military operations and warfare by increasing accuracy and promptness and reducing latency rates to counterattacks. Extending to the military domain, operations in smart cities involve cyber integration with megacities and specialised army training to combat civilians in those conditions. In building a ‘smart city’, Beijing is employing advanced technologies, such as 4-D visualisation for infrastructural planning in Jinan, using hydrological and meteorological data for flood control in Guangzhou, and constructing a digital twin in Xiong’an New Area. These digital urbanisations require huge amounts of data and network bandwidth for real-time updates. What China aims to develop is a city brain—an updated version of the smart city—to build a prototype for monitoring physical infrastructure in a smart city. This raises significant concerns about data privacy, particularly when coupled with military applications under China’s military-civilian fusion strategy. Additionally, Beijing’s policy extends beyond provincial borders. It encompasses national-level and comprehensive efforts that aim to link the world digital brain (世界数字大脑) through Internet Protocol (IP) and the internet by 2045. Therefore, city brain holds significant scope for future military command brain systems, wherein availing data through facial recognition would aid espionage, sabotage, and intelligence gathering.

Based on the use of technology and public participation, scholars have classified the construction of Beijing’s smart city into broad categories. First, the ‘knowledge-technocratic city’, which pivots research and development (R&D) with the slightest human involvement. Second, the ‘holistic city’, which attempts to integrate all application domains, as exemplified in places such as Beijing and Zhuhai. Third, a ‘green city’ emphasises reduced carbon emissions and the use of green technology, encouraging active participation from the community. Fourth, it is characterised by a reliance on limited ICT infrastructure for equipment and technology. Lastly, in this context, emerging technology sees minimal public involvement. These classifications show that, unlike the US’s bottom-up and decentralised approach to smart cities, China has a centralised, top-down approach, where people’s participation is less important than in the case of America.

These high-tech infrastructure benefits military operations and warfare by increasing accuracy and promptness and reducing latency rates to counterattacks.

Chinese companies such as Huawei, Alibaba, and Baidu are competing with their Western equivalents, including IBM, Cisco, and GPS, in promoting and exporting smart city initiatives. As a result, China and the US are competing for dominance in exporting smart cities, especially in countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. The project for constructing smart cities in other countries leverages technology and firms for IoT, cloud computing, 5G, AI, sensors, and data centres, procuring from the US and China. Chinese firm Huawei is a major player with 28 out of 34 projects initiated by China in the Middle East from 2014 to 2024. In raising concerns over control and dependence, the US has been attributing the Chinese presence to data infiltration, surveillance, and intelligence gathering, arguing that out of 34 projects, 13 are involved with Chinese intelligence. However, Middle Eastern countries are harnessing Beijing’s engagement for sustainable growth, job creation, and economic diversification. This suggests that China’s presence is directly challenging the US dominance in the region. The US perceives a threat to national security due to mass surveillance and the spread of authoritarian values within the infrastructure. Since Chinese smart cities are centrally managed, companies are required to share data with the government.

The scope and pace of China’s development are alarming. Beijing’s push for smart infrastructure has moved beyond the sustainability, inclusivity, and reliance agenda, raising concerns over its security implications and demanding further attention towards how China’s smart infrastructure is influencing the global technological landscape. China’s quest for smart cities is not just about standalone material projects but has a dual-use intention. The first step is the modernisation and achievement of tech dominance, accompanied by a long-term vision of controlling the world's digital brain. Beijing is leveraging military-civil fusion, a strong firewall in national and international influence and advanced AI capabilities (e.g., DeepSeek) to transform its cities and village landscapes into ‘New Smart Cities’ and ‘Digital Villages’ respectively. This model extends beyond domestic modernisation and exporting Chinese technological values and standards across regions and the globe through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), thereby legitimising China as a dominant power to influence future cyber-enabled infrastructure norms and standards. This further raises major concerns for the US, highlighting the issue of mass surveillance, information gathering, and the growing dependence on the Chinese state-controlled system and infrastructure.

Amrita Jash is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Institute of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (Institution of Eminence), Manipal, Karnataka, India.

Nistha Kumari Singh is a Doctoral Candidate and Dr TMA Pai Fellow at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Institute of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (Institution of Eminence), Manipal, Karnataka, India.

• International Affairs
• China
• china ai cities
• china smart city development
• china smart city policy
• china smart city strategy
• city brain 3.0
• digital village development china
• smart cities in china
• smart city development in china
• urban development in china

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