allworld.mediaNews from all over the world
Token consumption in China is projected to reach 100 quadrillion by 2026
Read more
CGTN
cgtn.com

Token consumption in China is projected to reach 100 quadrillion by 2026

According to a new report, annual token consumption in China is expected to reach 100 quadrillion this year. This growth is driven by the shift in China's AI industry focus from competition in large models and computing power to large-scale deployment and commercialization of AI agents.

The report, titled 'Research Report on the Development of AI Infrastructure in the Agent Era (2026),' published by the China Telecommunications Research Institute on Saturday, notes that AI is entering a new stage of development where AI agents are becoming the primary type of application.

These AI agents make complex AI technologies invisible and accessible, allowing individuals and enterprises to perform complex tasks end-to-end without needing specialized technical knowledge.

Rao Shaoyan, Director of the Institute of Enterprise and Industry Strategy at the China Telecommunications Research Institute, stated that China's annual token consumption is projected to reach 100 quadrillion in 2026 and exceed 35 quintillion by 2030, corresponding to an average annual growth rate of nearly 12 times.

This means that in 2026, daily consumption is expected to be approximately 274 trillion tokens, or about 3.2 billion tokens per second, compared to over 140 trillion per day as of March of this year.

Rao noted that the surge in AI agents will stimulate sustained and rapid growth in China's demand for computing power. It is projected that the demand for computing power in China will increase almost tenfold annually over the next two to three years. Regarding the structure of this demand, inference computing will significantly outpace training computing, and by 2029, inference is predicted to account for 80% of the Chinese computing market.

Chinese companies are already preparing for the increase in token consumption. Qian Lin, a leading expert in Chinese mobile communications, reported that his group has established two high-level management institutes for computing power and tokens to coordinate the development of computing infrastructure and token consumption.

Qian added that, according to their estimates, China Mobile's average daily token output last year was about 3.4 trillion tokens, and this year's production capacity will certainly exceed that level.

Furthermore, according to the global research firm International Data Corporation, the number of active AI agents worldwide is expected to grow from approximately 28.6 million in 2025 to 79.4 million in 2026, reaching 2.216 billion by 2030.

Similar stories

Sugar prices fell by 4% but remain 27% higher than last month
Read more
www.aajtak.in

Sugar prices fell by 4% but remain 27% higher than last month

There is some decrease in sugar prices in the country. In one week, the average retail price of sugar dropped by 3.85%, reaching ₹62.57 per kilogram, compared to ₹65.08 per kilogram a week ago. Nevertheless, despite this decrease, the retail cost of sugar remains approximately 27% higher than last month's level, which was ₹49.33 per kilogram.

To stop the sharp rise in prices, the government has taken a number of measures, including allowing the import of 10 million tons of sugar. Furthermore, storage rules for wholesale buyers and dealers have been tightened. It is expected that these measures have begun to affect the wholesale market.

According to data from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, on September 2, the average wholesale price of sugar was ₹57.62 per kilogram, which is lower than the figure of ₹60.39 per kilogram a week earlier. Thus, wholesale prices also decreased by approximately ₹2.77 per kilogram. However, despite the drop in wholesale prices, retail buyers are not yet feeling the full benefit. The reason for this lies in the fact that sellers have old stocks purchased at higher prices and do not want to sell them at a reduced price to avoid losses.

According to an industry source, it may take at least 10 days for changes in retail prices to become noticeable. Typically, a seller keeps between 10 and 15 bags of sugar, each weighing about 50 kilograms. A significant reduction in retail prices is only possible after the old expensive stocks are sold off and the supply of new, cheaper goods begins.

Tension has arisen between the government and sugar factories regarding prices. The government accuses the factories of raising prices. The state claims that there is a sufficient supply of sugar in the country. Moreover, the forecast for sugar production for the 2025-26 marketing year has been reduced from the previous 343 million tons to 306 million tons. Nevertheless, the current situation is not considered a serious crisis in terms of availability, given the country's annual domestic demand, which is estimated at approximately 280–285 million tons.

The government seeks to simultaneously increase supplies and control existing market stocks. The latest official data indicates some easing of prices in both the wholesale and retail markets after these measures were adopted. However, retail customers will need some time to fully benefit from this reduction. Retail prices are also expected to decrease once new, cheaper goods arrive in stores. Although sugar prices have fallen over the past week, they are still significantly higher than last month. The future direction of prices will be determined by the supply of new goods and market demand in the coming days.

Popular