<div id="readability-page-1"><figure></figure> China’s telecom industry is entering its next major business transition, evolving from selling voice minutes to monetizing mobile data and now to packaging and trading AI tokens. This week, China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom collectively unveiled token-based service plans and ecosystem partnerships, signaling how operators are positioning themselves for the rise of the token economy. The latest moves mark a strategic shift away from the industry’s long-running price wars over traffic and data packages, as telecom carriers seek new growth engines tied to AI services, computing access and tokenized consumption models. <figure><img width="780" height="438" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://i0.wp.com/technode.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/AI-TOKEN-2.png/query-cmVzaXplPTc4MCw0Mzgmc3NsPTE?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://i0.wp.com/technode.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/AI-TOKEN-2.png/query-cmVzaXplPTc4MCw0Mzgmc3NsPTE"/><figcaption>Credit: Yuanbao AI</figcaption></figure> China Telecom has moved first to stake out its position in the emerging token economy. On Monday, the carrier announced a range of trial commercial token packages, offering consumer and household plans priced at 9.9 yuan ($1.40) per month for 10 million tokens, 29.9 yuan ($4.20) for 40 million tokens and 49.9 yuan ($6.90) for 80 million tokens, alongside integrated token, connectivity and security services. For developers and small businesses, China Telecom introduced professional-tier plans ranging from 39.9 yuan ($5.60) to 299.9 yuan ($42.00) per month, with token allowances reaching as high as 150 million. The company also launched the China Telecom Token Ecosystem Alliance on the same day, which includes partners across key parts of the token value chain, including production and distribution. <figure><img width="780" height="443" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://i0.wp.com/technode.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/AI-Token.png/query-cmVzaXplPTc4MCw0NDMmc3NsPTE?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://i0.wp.com/technode.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/AI-Token.png/query-cmVzaXplPTc4MCw0NDMmc3NsPTE"/><figcaption>Credit: Yuanbao AI</figcaption></figure> China Mobile is taking a regional pilot approach backed by group-level coordination. In Shanghai, the carrier partnered with Tencent to launch an AI-native workspace platform that offers 400,000 tokens for 1 yuan ($0.14), with payments supported through mobile billing. In Beijing, users can purchase entry-level computing power add-on packages starting at 5.99 yuan ($0.84), while a monthly package priced at 24.99 yuan ($3.50) includes 10 million tokens. At the 2026 Mobile Cloud Conference held from May 7 to 9, China Mobile unveiled its New Computing Power Momentum initiative and teamed up with seven partners, including Tencent, Alibaba and Huawei, to launch a token operations ecosystem alliance. The platform integrates around 300 AI models, and China Mobile said centralized operations could help reduce per-token costs by around 30%. <figure><img width="780" height="438" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://i0.wp.com/technode.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/AI-TOKEN-3.png/query-cmVzaXplPTc4MCw0Mzgmc3NsPTE?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://i0.wp.com/technode.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/AI-TOKEN-3.png/query-cmVzaXplPTc4MCw0Mzgmc3NsPTE"/><figcaption>Credit: Yuanbao AI</figcaption></figure> China Unicom is focusing on emerging AI-driven usage scenarios. In Shanghai, the carrier is offering OPC (one-person company) users a free trial allocation of 30 million tokens and has introduced bundled packages combining tokens, AI cloud desktops and its Uniclaw platform. In Hubei, China Unicom rolled out three token-tier packages ranging from 6 million to 18 million tokens, priced between 7.5 yuan ($1.05) and 359 yuan ($50.30). Behind the latest moves is an explosive surge in token consumption. According to data from China’s National Data Administration, average daily token usage in China has jumped from 100 billion at the start of 2024 to 140 trillion by March 2026. That is an increase of more than 1,000 times in just two years. China’s three major telecom operators are accelerating their transformation from traditional connectivity providers into service platforms for the token economy. Token operations are rapidly replacing traffic monetization as the industry’s new strategic focus, while competition for this trillion-yuan market is only beginning.</div>

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China's telecom giants, China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom, are transitioning to the AI token economy by launching token-based service plans. This shift marks a departure from traditional pricing models, focusing on monetizing AI services and tokenized consumption. China Telecom has introduced various token packages, while China Mobile and China Unicom are developing regional partnerships and AI-driven offerings. The surge in token usage, from 100 billion to 140 trillion daily, highlights the industry's pivot towards token operations as a new growth strategy.

China’s three telecom giants race into the AI token economy