• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
China

China Beats the U.S. In Supercomputing Prowess

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 20, 2016, 3:27 PM ET
USA - Technology - Advertising
Elios Astudillo, sales Engineer points out a server inside Index Exchange's cage at Equinix's Data transfer center in New Jersey. High speed data transfer plays an important part in programmatic advertising. Digital content, media and advertising companies like Index Exchange accelerate real-time bidding for online ads at on of Equinix 's Data transfer centers. this one in New Jersey. (Photo by Neville Elder/Corbis via Getty Images)Neville Elder—Corbis via Getty Images

China continues to lead the world in supercomputing.

A new Chinese supercomputer called Sunway TaihuLight is the world’s most power machine, according to the TOP500 organization, whose researchers compile a biannual global listing of the top supercomputers. TOP500 released the new supercomputer rankings on Monday in Frankfurt, Germany during the International Supercomputing Conference.

Sunway TaihuLight overtakes the top spot from the Chinese supercomputer Tianhe-2, which TOP500 said in November was the world’s leading supercomputer at the time. TaihuLight, which is currently being used at the National Supercomputing Center the Chinese city of Wuxi, is three times as powerful as Tianhe-2, according to TOP500. This is the seventh straight time that a Chinese supercomputer has topped the rankings.

The new top supercomputer was also built with “exclusively based technology developed in China,” touted Top500. This is noteworthy because of the belief held by some researchers that Chinese supercomputers require foreign technology to effectively compete with other countries’ supercomputers, according to Top500.

Tianhe-2, for example, uses Intel processors whereas TaihuLight employs a new ShenWei processor, which was built in China.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

“As the first number one system of China that is completely based on homegrown processors, the Sunway TaihuLight system demonstrates the significant progress that China has made in the domain of designing and manufacturing large-scale computation systems,” said Wuxi-based National Supercomputing Center director Dr. Guangwen Yang in a statement.

Additionally, China has overtaken the U.S. in the amount of supercomputers being used. China now has 167 supercomputers in use whereas the U.S. has 165 similar machines.

The report’s authors noted that “generically named Internet service providers and a number of anonymous commercial firms” helped boost China’s numbers, and that these machines are probably not running the type of typical daily supercomputing tasks that researchers expect of the machines. However, the authors said that this practice also occurs in the U.S. and other countries, “so it’s difficult to make objective comparisons.”

For more about computing, watch:

The Top500 researchers also shared some interesting tidbits about some big U.S. technology companies, notably Intel (INTC) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), in regards to the supercomputing list. HPE maintains the most supercomputers in the world with 127 machines, while Intel “totally dominates other chipmakers in systems using their processors.”

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

EnergyOil
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical choke point for global energy markets, but there are ways to get around it
By Jason MaMarch 2, 2026
7 hours ago
trump
Economynational debt
Interest on the $38.8 trillion national debt has tripled since 2020, and it already costs taxpayers more than defense and Medicaid
By Nick LichtenbergMarch 2, 2026
7 hours ago
trump
Middle EastMiddle East
Trump’s strikes on Iran could cost American economy as much as $210 billion, top budget expert says
By Nick LichtenbergMarch 2, 2026
8 hours ago
OpenAI logo is seen in this photo illustration with the South Korean flag in the background
AIOpenAI
‘Could it kill someone?’ A Seoul woman allegedly used ChatGPT to help carry out two murders in South Korean motels
By Catherina GioinoMarch 2, 2026
8 hours ago
Commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf
EnergyIran
Energy markets offer ‘relatively small reaction’ to Iran war, but prices could spike if oil and gas aren’t flowing by the end of the week
By Jordan BlumMarch 2, 2026
8 hours ago
A woman stands with her hand on her hip as she pumps gas into her car.
EnergyOil
Oil markets are bracing for $100 barrels and a redux of a 1970s-era crisis but ‘three times the scale,’ analyst warns
By Sasha RogelbergMarch 2, 2026
8 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Middle East
U.S. military gives Iran a taste of its own medicine with cheap copycat Shahed drones, while concern shifts to munitions supply in extended conflict
By Jason MaMarch 1, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
MacKenzie Scott's close relationship with Toni Morrison long before Amazon put Scott on the path to give more than $1 billion to HBCUs
By Sasha RogelbergMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Your grandparents are the reason the U.S. isn't in a recession right now. That won't last forever
By Eleanor PringleMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
American schools weren’t broken until Silicon Valley used a lie to convince them they were—now reading and math scores are plummeting
By Sasha RogelbergMarch 1, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Slack cofounder says workers and CEOs can get stuck doing 'fake' work like pre-meetings and slideshows
By Emma BurleighMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Health
Gen Z men are eating ‘boy kibble,’ the human equivalent to dog food, to load up on protein cheaply
By Jake AngeloMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.