Between Xinjiang (using American tech, as SF is very keenly aware) and the history of industrial espionage, I do not think that that Californian tech companies trust Chinese firms, or are wrong to have that opinion.
To say that Singapore is equidistant from SF and Beijing is objectively wrong as a matter of geography, and I do not buy it politically. Eastern Europe would be more credible.
I actually considered Eastern Europe as well! It’s tricky to site the project, given that the initial phase is renting. I’m very open to ideas other than Singapore- it feels like the « best worst option » rather than something I’m very certain is right.
I see the pitch for Singapore: the governmental interest and capacity is certainly stronger than most comparables. Estonia is probably too far from China. Americans at least feel that Germany has relatively aligned itself with China, but I'm not sure what the Chinese view is.
There's also significant savings in moving to another country with lower power costs- Malasia's power is 40% cheaper than Singapore, for instance, which saves you 100s of thousands a year.
Between Xinjiang (using American tech, as SF is very keenly aware) and the history of industrial espionage, I do not think that that Californian tech companies trust Chinese firms, or are wrong to have that opinion.
To say that Singapore is equidistant from SF and Beijing is objectively wrong as a matter of geography, and I do not buy it politically. Eastern Europe would be more credible.
I actually considered Eastern Europe as well! It’s tricky to site the project, given that the initial phase is renting. I’m very open to ideas other than Singapore- it feels like the « best worst option » rather than something I’m very certain is right.
I see the pitch for Singapore: the governmental interest and capacity is certainly stronger than most comparables. Estonia is probably too far from China. Americans at least feel that Germany has relatively aligned itself with China, but I'm not sure what the Chinese view is.
Germany would have been a contender 2024 but these days the trade imbalance is sparking just too much tension.
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/germany-is-finally-waking-up-to-the-china-challenge-and-beijing-is-gearing-up-to-respond/
There's also significant savings in moving to another country with lower power costs- Malasia's power is 40% cheaper than Singapore, for instance, which saves you 100s of thousands a year.