China’s AI Sector Enters Rapid Expansion as Daily Token Calls Surge

China’s artificial intelligence industry has stepped into a phase of accelerated growth, supported by a sharp rise in daily token usage across the country.

Latest official figures show that by March this year, the average daily volume of token calls in China has exceeded 140 trillion. This represents a more than 1,000-fold increase from the 100 billion daily calls recorded at the start of 2024, and a rise of over 40 per cent in just three months compared with the 100 trillion daily calls logged at the end of 2025.

The substantial growth in token consumption offers a clear barometer of the fast-developing state of China’s artificial intelligence ecosystem. Token calls serve as a key metric reflecting the scale of model inference, application deployment and real-world usage of AI technologies across industrial, commercial and public service scenarios.

The sustained upward trend underscores the deepening integration of artificial intelligence into diverse sectors of the economy, as well as the expanding adoption of large language models and intelligent applications by enterprises, public institutions and end-users alike.

Driven by continuous improvements in computing infrastructure, model innovation and scenario-based applications, China’s AI industry has maintained robust momentum. The rapid increase in daily token calls mirrors the expanding demand for intelligent services and the steady maturation of the domestic AI industrial chain.

As AI technologies become more embedded in production and daily life, the growing volume of token calls is expected to further support the iteration of AI models, the upgrade of application scenarios and the high-quality development of the digital economy.