Beijing's E-Town development area is seeking to build an integrated industrial ecosystem around the token economy, turning growing AI capabilities into commercially viable services and new economic opportunities.
At the ongoing 9th China International Import Expo in Shanghai, the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, is presenting a 12-square-meter exhibition showcasing its efforts to build an AI ecosystem around a token factory, highlighting developments in space-based computing, semiconductors, infrastructure, large models and application platforms.
Tokens — the basic data units through which AI models process and generate information — are increasingly used to measure AI workloads and price AI services. As demand for AI applications expands, tokens are becoming a key link between computing supply and real-world demand.
At the center of the demonstration is Beijing's first token factory. Recently completed in the development area, it boasts nearly 10,000 petaflops of computing capacity. Unlike conventional data centers that primarily rent computing resources, a token factory combines hardware, AI inference software and model optimization to deliver standardized AI processing services.
E-Town is also planning a distribution platform that would let developers access different AI models and computing systems through a unified interface, with requests routed according to their needs. The aim is to link large-scale token production with demand from companies and developers.
The approach reflects a shift from developing individual AI technologies toward building a coordinated industrial chain in which advances in hardware and computing infrastructure support model development, while practical applications generate demand for further technological improvements.
At the chip level, Houmo.AI showcased its M50 chip, an energy-efficient edge AI processor specifically designed for large-model inference. The technology is intended to support AI deployment closer to end users and devices.
ZTE Corp, meanwhile, presented its OEX orthogonal backplane-free interconnect architecture for supercomputing clusters. Compatible with mainstream graphics processing units, the solution has already entered commercial applications among leading internet companies, telecommunications operators and government and corporate clients.
At the model level, VAST demonstrated Tripo P2.0, a 3D foundation model that can generate structured 3D assets that meet industrial production requirements within seconds, allowing them to be integrated into professional gaming and film production workflows.
Further downstream, Maimai Technology Group showcased agricultural robots powered by embodied intelligence core.
The token economy comes as China's demand for AI inference accelerates. Average daily token calls in the country exceeded 500 trillion by June, compared with 100 billion in early 2024, according to data from the National Data Administration.
Tapping the gap, E-Town introduced a set of trial measures in August to support the development of a token-driven intelligent economy. By 2030, the area aims to establish four token factories, each equipped with at least 10,000 accelerator cards, and develop an intelligent economy exceeding 400 billion yuan ($60 billion).
