According to the "AI Infrastructure Development Research Report (2026) for the Agent Era," released by the China Telecom Research Institute, as the focus of the artificial intelligence industry shifts from competition over large models and computing power to large-scale deployment of intelligent agents and application monetization, China's demand for tokens is experiencing explosive growth.

The report indicates that artificial intelligence is now entering a new development phase centered around intelligent agents as the primary form. These agents make complex AI technologies invisible and more accessible, allowing businesses and the general public to complete end-to-end complex tasks without needing specialized technical expertise.

Rao Shaoyang, Director of the Industry and Enterprise Research Institute at the China Telecom Research Institute, projects that China's annual token consumption will reach one quintillion in 2026 and surpass 350 quintillion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of nearly 12 times. From a computing power perspective, Rao noted that the surge in intelligent agents will drive sustained, high-speed growth in China's computing power demand. Over the next two to three years, the country's computing power needs are expected to grow at an average annual rate of nearly 10 times.

Looking at the demand structure, inference computing power will significantly outpace training computing power, with inference expected to account for 80% of China's total computing power market by 2029. Data shows that in 2026, capital expenditures on artificial intelligence by China's leading technology companies are approaching 600 billion yuan, representing more than 10% of the nation's total investment. Furthermore, international market research institutions predict that the number of active intelligent agents globally will reach nearly 80 million in 2026 and is expected to grow to 2.216 billion by 2030.