Every technological revolution has introduced a defining unit of measurement—steam engines brought horsepower, electricity established the kilowatt-hour, and the internet created the bit. Now, the artificial intelligence wave is bestowing similar significance on the token, the fundamental unit of data processing in large language models. As the digital economy transitions into an intelligent economy powered by such models, a new economic paradigm centered on tokens is rapidly taking shape. At the 2026 Green Computing Power (Artificial Intelligence) Conference held on August 22 in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, the token economy became a focal point of discussion among attendees.

Token Explosion: The New Metric of the Intelligent Economy

As of March 2026, China's daily token call volume has surged from approximately 100 billion in early 2024 to about 140 trillion, a more than thousand-fold increase over two years. Ao Li, vice president of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), cited this figure while releasing the "Green Computing Power Development Research Report (2026)" at the conference. As the smallest semantic unit processed by large models, the explosive growth in token demand underscores the rapid expansion of AI application scale. Services that once seemed intangible and difficult to quantify are now measurable, pricable, and tradeable through tokens. In March of this year, Liu Liehong, director of the National Data Administration, stated that tokens are not only the value anchor of the intelligent era but also the "settlement unit" connecting technological supply with commercial demand, offering a quantifiable foundation for business model implementation.

Behind each token lies real costs in computing power, electricity, and infrastructure. On the technology supply side, tokens provide a quantifiable output metric for investments in computing resources, models, and data. On the commercial demand side, they establish clear measurement criteria for purchasing and using intelligent services. Token-centered trading and business models are now carving out a new blue ocean in the intelligent economy: API services billed by call volume are becoming common, token trading platforms are emerging, and token factories—new types of infrastructure—are being accelerated in construction.

Inner Mongolia has already positioned itself at the forefront of this trend. In the Hohhot area of the Inner Mongolia Pilot Free Trade Zone, the country's first full-stack green computing AI platform—the Inner Mongolia Token Trading Platform—is now operational. The region's largest confidential token factory has also been established in the Horinger New District of the free trade zone. The recently issued "Several Measures to Promote the High-Quality Development of the Token Economy in Inner Mongolia" introduces 18 specific initiatives across nine areas, aiming to establish the region as a national high-quality token supply base, an outbound hub for token exports, and a pioneering demonstration zone for token economy development. Additionally, the "Hohhot Three-Year Action Plan for Integrated Development of Green Computing Power and Token Economy (2026–2028)" clearly outlines the creation of the "China Cloud Valley · Token Smart Port" brand, targeting the formation of a token economy industrial cluster with diverse business formats, a complete value chain, and distinctive features by 2028, with token-related digital industry revenue exceeding 100 billion yuan. Ulanqab also introduced a "Token Capital" three-year action plan in late 2025, aiming to build a complete industrial loop spanning "wind and solar power generation—green computing—token value output."

"The token economy is moving rapidly from concept to institutional arrangements and industrial practice," said Xu Zhifa, Party Secretary and Director of the Industrial and Planning Research Institute at CAICT.

Token Exports: Serving the New Dual-Circulation Development Pattern

At the conference, the launch ceremony was held for the Inner Mongolia Pilot Free Trade Zone Digital Services Outbound (Token Exports) Comprehensive Service Platform, marking the official establishment of Inner Mongolia's digital gateway for China's computing power exports and the commencement of a cross-border digital artery serving the Belt and Road Initiative. Guo Juying, a member of the Party Working Committee and deputy director of the Administrative Committee for the Hohhot area and Horinger New District of the China (Inner Mongolia) Pilot Free Trade Zone, explained that the platform primarily supports enterprises in exporting computing services, reflecting Hohhot's increasingly open approach to green computing development. Hohhot is currently building a green computing export corridor targeting Russia, Mongolia, and Belt and Road partner countries, better serving the domestic and international dual circulation.

While the "East Data, West Computing" project facilitates the "internal circulation" linking eastern data processing demand with western computing supply, token exports establish the "external circulation" connecting China's intelligent services to global markets, expanding the intelligent economy's blue ocean from both domestic and international dimensions. Unlike goods trade reliant on cross-border logistics, the token export value chain spans four segments: energy production, model development, computing scheduling, and cross-border delivery. By converting China's abundant computing power and green electricity resources into exportable digital commodities carried by tokens, a completely new export track is emerging in the digital economy era. Sun Bin, president and co-founder of Beijing Suanlihai Technology Co., Ltd., noted, "Token exports represent a brand-new model for globalizing China's AI computing services, encompassing both remote domestic services and overseas deployment options. Inner Mongolia, with its advantages in green electricity and computing hubs, can leverage the token factory model to achieve industrial upgrading from selling resources to exporting AI capabilities."

Xu Zhifa offered a vivid illustration of the value leap from a unit of electricity to token exports: "If one kilowatt-hour of electricity sells for 34 cents in Inner Mongolia, converting it into computing rental services generates about 1 to 2 yuan. Generating 5.5 million tokens from that computing power can yield roughly 11 yuan. And if exported overseas, the returns could be hundreds or even thousands of times the original electricity price." As the token wave rises, the growth potential of the intelligent economy is being redefined, and the boundaries of value creation continue to expand.