People visit an exhibition of innovative achievements during the 2025 World Computing Conference in Changsha, Central China's Hunan province, on Nov 20. DING CHUNYU/XINHUA
BEIJING — Behind every artificial intelligence breakthrough lies raw computing power. China, staying true to its characteristically pragmatic approach, is now racing to industrialize it.
Recent developments offer a striking glimpse of this trend. In Jiangsu province's Wuxi — a manufacturing powerhouse near Shanghai — electronics firm HON-Flex signed an agreement with the local government to build what they call a "token factory". Days later, China Telecom and China Mobile, the country's two telecom giants, began selling "token packages" directly to consumers, with entry-level plans starting at just 9.9 yuan ($1.46) a month.
The ambition runs deeper than merely expanding data centers and stockpiling AI accelerators. China is methodically converting computing power into measurable and priceable commodities — much like water, electricity or bandwidth. By leveraging the vast subscriber networks of traditional telecom operators that already reach billions of users, this push is poised to accelerate AI services into the marketplace.
