What happened
At the 2026 China International Big Data Industry Expo in Guiyang, National Data Administration officials said data infrastructure has expanded to cover 15 key industries and more than 50 cities. The event, hosted by the administration and undertaken by Guizhou province, registered over 16,000 participants and drew 372 Chinese and foreign exhibitors.
During a session on 'token'-based value release, administration head Liu Liehong described the token as a new path for unlocking data element value, providing a standard for measuring, pricing, trading and settling AI services. He called for collaboration across government, industry, academia, research and application in four areas: value release, industrial ecology, business models and institutional supply.
At another session, Liu said AI is moving from technological innovation to a productivity necessity, and noted that national intelligent computing capacity reached 2.45 million PFLOPS (FP16) by the end of July 2026. Deputy director Xia Bing added that computing power, facilities and standards must work together to support data flow and value release.
Why it matters
The coverage milestone signals that data infrastructure is becoming a broader foundational layer for the digital economy, extending beyond early pilots into a wider set of industries and urban areas.
Positioning the token as a measurement unit for AI services suggests an emerging framework for pricing and trading data-related value, linking data, models and computing in a more structured way.
The focus on computing capacity, monitoring and electricity coordination highlights rising policy attention to efficient, scalable intelligent computing as AI demand grows.
Key facts
National data infrastructure now covers 15 key industries and more than 50 cities, according to the National Data Administration.
As of end of July 2026, national intelligent computing total scale reached 2.45 million PFLOPS (FP16), with eight national computing hubs and three computing-electricity zones accounting for over 85% of installed smart computing capacity.
The 2026 Big Data Expo in Guiyang attracted over 16,000 registered guests and 372 Chinese and foreign enterprises.
What to watch next
How token-based measurement and settlement mechanisms evolve in practice, including possible commercial pilots in AI services.
Whether data infrastructure coverage expands beyond the current 15 industries and 50 cities, and what new construction and operating models emerge.
How intelligent computing scheduling and computing-electricity coordination develop under national monitoring and policy guidance.