Apple will build second data centre in China to offer iCloud services

US tech giant Apple will build a second data centre in China in Inner Mongolia autonomous region, which will provide various iCloud services for users on the Chinese mainland, state-media reported.

The first data centre is being built in southwestern Guizhou province.

Like Apple's first centre, the second one will be put into operation in 2020 and offer iCloud services on the Chinese mainland, state-run Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.

The project will use 100 per cent renewable energy sources, according to the cooperation agreement between the city government and the company.

Inner Mongolia was listed as one of the country's big data development zones in 2016 and Ulanqab is now home to a big data centre of Chinese technology giant Huawei.

With an investment of $1 billion, the first data centre will cover 67 hectares in Guian New Area.

Apple already announced that starting February 28, its iCloud services on the Chinese mainland will be operated by a local partner, Guizhou-Cloud BigDataIndustry Co Ltd.

Before the data centre begins operations, the Chinese company will rent servers from China's three major telecom operators to provide iCloud services, an earlier Xinhua report said.

Guizhou is one of the least developed regions in China, but it has become a pioneer in big data in China due to its climate, power supply, and network infrastructure.