China rolls out 'token factories' to drive AI economy

In May, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, drawing on its green computing resources, launched a token trading platform integrating model calls, token matching and transaction settlement. Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, is exploring new models such as cross-border data compliance and remote model inference delivery, helping domestic computing power and large-model capabilities reach Association of Southeast Asian Nations markets as standardized token services. East China's Anhui province, meanwhile, is encouraging lenders to offer "token loans" as a financial tool for the token economy.

Industry observers generally agree that the global token economy remains in its early stage, but holds vast potential.

A research report by China International Capital Corp, a Chinese investment bank, sees "token factories" as one of the fastest-growing and most commercially promising business models for large-model developers in the near term. JP Morgan predicts that China's AI inference token consumption will grow about 370-fold between 2025 and 2030.

China's three major telecom operators rolled out token packages in May for individual users as well as government and enterprise clients, bringing token commercialization further into reach for individual consumers.

Li Lingran, an engineer at an internet company in Beijing, says using large AI models at work has become as essential as water. Li now spends more than 200 yuan ($30) a month on tokens, even more than his traditional mobile phone bill. "This is a shift you can't ignore," he said.

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