How Did China Become a "Constructor" of the Deep-Sea Information "Highway"?

Jul 01,2025

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Submarine cables, categorized into communication (submarine optical fiber cables) and power cables, constitute the "central nervous system" for global energy and information interconnection, bearing 99% of transoceanic data transmission. With the booming digital demand, the global submarine cable network is expanding: by the end of 2024, more than 360 international communication submarine cables (with a total length of 1.7 million kilometers) were in operation, and over 50 were under construction or planning (expected to add more than 420,000 kilometers).

China's development in this field has been revolutionary. Since 1993, when the Sino Japanese submarine optical fiber cable—China's first international large-capacity communication link, which could support only 15,000 simultaneous calls—was put into operation, Chinese enterprises have made leapfrog advancements. Driven by technologies such as wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and space division multiplexing (SDM), today's submarine cables have transmission capacities of hundreds of terabits per second (Tbps; for example, 100 Tbps can support 2.8 billion simultaneous calls).

By the end of 2024, Chinese entities had constructed 17 international submarine cable systems (in addition to links connecting to Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan), realizing global direct or switched connectivity. Looking forward, China will continue to enhance independent and secure submarine cable ecosystems, providing new choices for global digital infrastructure.

In the future, China will strengthen independent and safe submarine cable ecosystems, offering diverse options to enhance global resilience.


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