On Thursday’s CBS Mornings, correspondent Anna Coren traveled to Ulanqab in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia to showcase the country’s growing artificial intelligence industry and the lack of public opposition to it, but her report left out the obvious question of why there is no such opposition.
Words like "communist" and "dictatorship" weren't used.
With the A.I. arms race between China and the U.S. a topic of heated debate, especially with Jensen Huang’s resignation as CEO of Nvidia, co-host Vladimir Duthiers happily introduced the segment by describing China as a country “where there is no public debate on A.I. data centers.” Rather than explore what that absence of debate might mean given the country’s one party dictatorship and lack of free speech, CBS portrayed China massive A.I. expansion as an economic success story.
Coren highlighted the “rugged terrain, wind turbines and electricity transmission towers” that bring power to the area’s A.I. ambitions alongside crops and livestock. After asking a local farmer whether the development affected his farming land, he replied, “No, not at all. The changes are good.”
She went on to describe the region as “China’s west Texas,” and touted its expensive energy, affordable land and labor, and colder climate that reduce cooling costs. Yet, the report went on to detail how CBS couldn’t freely film the very project it was praising.
Even after a translator for CBS spoke with an employee of the project to request access to get closer to the construction site via drone, they were still refused.
That didn’t stop CBS from presenting China’s lack of community opposition as a positive contrast with the U.S.
“While data centers in the U.S. are facing community opposition, here in China, there is no such backlash,” said Coren.
Coren went on to account how development was welcomed in the area as it created jobs for younger generations. One Chinese civilian even confidently predicted “Yes, I think China can win” the A.I. race.
Still, Coren battened down the hatches on her argument:
While Chinese A.I. models are perhaps six months behind their U.S. competitors due to restrictions on the sale of high-end chips, the gap is narrowing. And some experts believe power capacity, not chips, will ultimately be the deciding factor in the global A.I. race. Now, just to give you an idea of the level of support for A.I. data centers in this country, a U.N. survey last year found up to 80% of people here in China are in favor.
But the report failed to examine whether or not the lack of opposition demonstrates public approval, especially when even journalists are faced with restrictions on what they can see or film.
American communities being able to challenge data center projects is a part of public debate, not evidence of failure.
CBS showed China’s impressive infrastructure, but offered little examination of the political environment surrounding it.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
CBS’ CBS Mornings
November 12, 2026
09:02:50 a.m. Eastern(...)
VLADIMIR DUTHIERS: Turning now to the controversy over Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and the future of the A.I. industry. CBS News has learned the company may decide Huang's fate as soon as today over two alleged affairs. One was believed to be with a woman who they say is potentially a Chinese spy. And it's now raising new questions about whether Nvidia chips should be sold to China, where there is no public debate on A.I. data centers.
Vast construction projects are under way and Anna Coren went to see it firsthand.
[CUT TO VIDEO]
ANNA COREN: On the snowy dusted plateau of Ulanqab in Inner Mongolia, the past and the future converge. Rising over the rugged terrain, wind turbines and electricity transmission towers stand along livestock and crops of potatoes.
[To unnamed farmer]: Does this affect your farming land?
“No, not at all. The changes are good,” he tells me. This is known as China's west Texas, a vast and rugged landscape that's powering the country's A.I. ambitions. A short drive away, we see what all that power will soon be feeding into. With the construction boom of data centers, the biggest anywhere in China, this country has more than doubled the power generation capacity of the United States.
We are not allowed to fly a drone in this area, which is unfortunate because it would give you the idea of the epic scale of this construction zone, but it goes on and on. It's like a mini city in itself.
The reason they’ve chosen to build here is because the energy is cheap. The climate is cold, keeping cooling costs down, while land and labor is more affordable. Up to 30,000 workers have been brought in from all over the country to build this A.I. hub.
[To unnamed employee]: Hello, sir. Hi. I'm Anna from CBS. Could we go down there and film? We just want to show the incredible construction that's going on.
UNNAMED TRANSLATOR: No, sorry.
COREN: No we can’t.
While data centers in the U.S. are facing community opposition, here in China, there is no such backlash.
“Development is the best thing, especially when it provides job opportunities for many young people,” she explains.
[To unnamed civilian]: Do you think China will win the A.I. race?
UNNAMED CIVILIAN: Yes, I think China can win.
COREN: While Chinese A.I. models are perhaps six months behind their U.S. competitors due to restrictions on the sale of high-end chips, the gap is narrowing. And some experts believe power capacity, not chips, will ultimately be the deciding factor in the global A.I. race.
Now, just to give you an idea of the level of support for A.I. data centers in this country, a U.N. survey last year found up to 80 percent of people here in China are in favor. Now to put that into context, about two-thirds of the population use A.I. every single day. So, you know, they embrace the technology and obviously the infrastructure that feeds it.
(...)
