Published : 07/07/2026
When we talk about the "world's factory", we first think of workers, goods, and assembly lines; in the AI era, a new type of factory——the "Token Factory"——is quietly emerging.
Described as the new oil of the AI age, tokens serve as the "intelligent fuel". Thanks to its unique advantages, China is becoming one of the world's most critical production bases for tokens.
Token: The most important infrastructure of AI era
First, we need to understand what "tokens" and "token factories" are.
A token, is the smallest unit of information that an AI model processes. Every question, every generation, every interaction and inference consumes tokens. It is the most fundamental fuel for the development of artificial intelligence.
As for the concept of the "token factory," it was proposed by NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang in an industry speech in 2026, and it refers to a new organisation that creates, transports, and applies tokens.
How does it differ from a traditional data centre? A traditional data centre is more like a data storage centre and exchange centre; but a token factory is more like an "electronic factory" with intelligent production lines.
The token production process can be understood as follows: data is the raw material, computing power and electricity are the power supply, chips are the manufacturing equipment, model inference is the production process, and tokens are the final product.
In the AI era, the importance of tokens is self-evident, and token factories are bound to become the most critical emerging infrastructure.
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Token production becomes the lifeline of AI
Token factories have recently received a lot of attention, and one important reason is that the AI industry is rapidly transitioning from the "chatbot era" to the "intelligent agent era". This shift has caused an explosive growth in token consumption.
When chatting with a large model, the interaction is single-step: you ask a question, it gives an answer, and token consumption is basically proportional to the amount of input and output text.
But an intelligent agent like OpenClaw is no longer just for chatting. It is designed to complete complex tasks, such as opening files, reading documents, calling software, sending emails, etc. The consumption of tokens naturally multiplies.
How large is this consumption?
According to domestic data, China's average daily token call volume has grown by over 1000 times in two years. As of March 2026, the national average daily token call volume exceeded 140 trillion.
This can be simply understood as the entire population of 1.4 billion people in China "consuming" hundreds of 1,000-word AI-generated pieces of content per person per day.
This is even more so on a global scale. According to forecasts by Goldman Sachs analysts, by 2030, the estimated global average monthly token consumption will reach 120,000 trillion, which is approximately 4,000 trillion per day.
Based on this change, the development of the AI industry will not only depend on "how smart the models are", but also on "whether the intelligent agents can be continuously supplied".
In other words, whoever can achieve the fastest speed and lowest cost in the race of token production will hold the lifeblood of the next generation of AI.
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Building a "world token factory"? China possesses these conditions
So, what conditions are necessary to become a world token factory?
Shen Yang (沈陽), a dually-appointed professor at the School of Journalism and Communication and the School of AI at Tsinghua University, said in a media interview that to become a world Token factory:
First, there must be sufficient energy. Without a low-cost, stable, and continuous energy supply, even the most advanced models cannot achieve a long-term advantage.
Second, there must be a sufficiently strong computing power equipment system; chips, servers, storage, and networks are all indispensable.
Third, there must be the capability for global delivery. It's not just about producing tokens, but also about having production standards, circulation rules, and compliant channels for going global.
All things considered, China has the world's lowest green electricity costs, a well-developed computing power infrastructure, and vast application scenarios, which are all positive conditions for becoming a "world token factory".
It is believed that this AI revolution will bring new opportunities for China. As for the advantages mentioned above, they will be discussed in another article in this series.
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