Surge of 'tokens' signals fresh opportunities

The artificial intelligence surge is rapidly reshaping China's digital economy. On Tuesday, a senior official in charge of data security pointed to an explosion in "tokens" as both a barometer of growth and a new export frontier.

Liu Liehong, head of the National Data Administration, said that daily consumption of tokens — tiny data units used by AI models — had surpassed 140 trillion as of March, a more than 1,000-fold increase from the 100 billion recorded at the beginning of 2024 and over 40 percent higher than the 100 trillion recorded at the end of last year.

"The surge signals that China's AI industry is expanding quickly and evolving from basic chat functions to more sophisticated systems capable of decision-making and task execution," Liu said.

Liu made the remarks on Tuesday at a news conference held by the State Council Information Office to announce the 9th Digital China Summit, which will take place from April 29 to 30 in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province.

Nearly 400 leading companies, including China Southern Power Grid and Alibaba Group, will introduce their latest technologies and products at the event. The summit will showcase nearly 100 exemplary cases of data element integration across agriculture, industrial manufacturing, healthcare, culture and tourism, with over 65 percent of the exhibits making their debut.

At the news conference, Liu announced that the government's next step for developing data elements will be to establish a unified national system for registering data property rights and roll out policies to build an integrated national data market and promote data infrastructure development. He emphasized that "token exports", a term gaining traction in the industry, are a visible marker of this shift for China.

At the heart of the trend lies a new economic logic. China is converting electricity into AI computing power and selling it globally in the form of tokens. The tokens measure how AI models read and generate the amount of text. The AI models are powered by China's computing power, and behind this computing power is China's massive reserves of electricity.

While raw electricity exported from China fetches about 0.5 yuan ($0.07) per kilowatt-hour, industry estimates suggest that converting that same energy into AI processing services can increase its value by up to 22 times.

A new value chain is rapidly taking shape around token generation, distribution and billing, offering one of the clearest pathways yet for AI monetization.

Wang Peng, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said: "This pathway lowers the entry barrier for global users. Competitively priced tokens allow small businesses, independent developers and users in emerging markets to access AI tools that were once out of reach."

Notably, China's western regions provide abundant low-cost renewable energy. The country has also built a vertically integrated supply chain spanning ultra-high-voltage transmission equipment, liquid-cooled data centers and server assembly — a combination that few rivals can match.

Shi Yuxia, a senior engineer at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, said: "The cost advantage of Chinese tokens over foreign competitors is not just down to electricity prices. It is a combination of energy cost advantages, improved AI capabilities and supply chain dominance."

chengyu@chinadaily.com.cn