China's Token Usage Hits 140 Trillion Daily, Driving Computing Power Demand

At the 2026 China Computing Conference, Academician Wu Hequan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering said that AI agents are driving Token consumption. In March this year, daily Token usage reached 140 trillion. He noted that efficiency matters more than volume in Token consumption. Lower Token costs in China are boosting usage.

Currently, China accounts for 21% of global computing power, while the US holds 46%. Under the national computing network plan, China's share could reach 30% by 2030. Token usage and computing power are directly proportional.

Rao Shaoyang from China Telecom Research Institute predicts China's annual Token consumption will hit 10 quadrillion in 2026 and exceed 3500 quadrillion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of nearly 12 times.