China's daily AI token calls top 500 trillion, competition shifts to AI agents

By June 2026, China's daily AI token calls exceeded 500 trillion, showing rapid AI adoption. Global large model competition is heating up, with Chinese models in the leading tier.

AI flagship models now update every 4-6 weeks, shifting focus from model IQ to AI agent deployment and ecosystem building. Feng Wen, chief architect at MiniMax, noted faster iteration, with larger parameters and context windows.

Inference computing demand is surging. Tencent's Hunyuan 3 saw token calls jump 68x in its first week. To secure computing resources, tech giants are accelerating AI data center projects, with local governments pushing domestic token factories and computing complexes.