China monetizes computing power via tokens

The National Data Administration said China's average daily token calls had exceeded 140 trillion in March, which represented a surge of more than 1,000-fold compared with 100 billion at the beginning of 2024, and an increase of over 40 percent compared with 100 trillion at the end of 2025.

While the emergence of the "token factory" is reshaping the supply side of AI infrastructure, the distribution side is now moving just as quickly.

China Telecom on May 17 launched a series of trial commercial token packages, becoming the first Chinese telecom operator to announce such packages at the group level. Following the move, China Mobile on May 20 expanded the market with the launch of its own nationwide token packages.

The actions taken by China's leading telecom carriers point to a broader strategic shift — from selling connectivity to retailing access to foundational AI computing resources for consumers and businesses alike.

China Telecom's token package system mainly targets three groups — individual and household users and developers; micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; and token ecosystem partners.

In addition to major telecom operators, companies such as Alibaba Cloud and Tencent Cloud have also launched token service products. The rollout of these new packages and services is expected to speed up the spread of AI applications among consumers and make token prices more affordable.

The move will not only open a new gateway to inclusive AI services for ordinary consumers, but also promote deeper integration among communications, computing power and AI, creating new opportunities and space for the digital economy, industry experts said.

Zhou Guijun, editor-in-chief of telecom industry news portal C114, told 21st Century Business Herald that such products are expected to have greater market potential on the enterprise side. In his view, the real logic behind the telecom operators' push into the token economy is not tokens themselves, but the value chain behind them.

According to Li Fei, vice-president of Guochuang Software, token packages will help remove the twin hurdles that have dogged smaller businesses — high computing costs and technical barriers.

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises no longer need to invest in their own servers or build models from scratch. By buying tokens as needed, they can quickly roll out AI applications like digital workers and content-generation tools, which will facilitate AI-driven upgrading for industries across the board, Li said.

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