The China International Big Data Industry Expo 2026 in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, attracted more than 300 exhibitors and with key themes ranging from computing infrastructure to data supply. The advances of China's digital economy were on vivid display at the Expo: inside the exhibition hall, a humanoid robot performed a Miao ethnic dance and martial arts; outside, driverless buses and retail pods hit the streets – signs of high-tech leaving the showroom for the real world. This year marks the 12th edition of the Big Data Expo, and for Miao Yu, a Hangzhou-based industry insider attending the fair for the fifth time, the broad transformation is obvious. “China's data industry has come a long way in just a few years. From the early rush to build data centers and computing capacity, to the push for compute-driven applications, and now this year's spotlight on the token economy, it really charts the trajectory of China's digital economy, moving from resource accumulation to full-scale ecosystem innovation," he told the Global Times.
The theme of this year's Big Data Industry Expo is “Token: A new path for unlocking the value of data elements.” As generative artificial intelligence (AI) scales up in application, the measurable, priceable, and tradable nature of tokens is being progressively unlocked. Token call volume is emerging as a key indicator for measuring AI activity, the depth of industrial penetration, and the level of intelligent development. China's data industry reached CNY6.78 trillion in 2025, up 15.7% year-on-year, maintaining sustained and rapid growth, according to the National Data Administration's National Institute for Data Development. Data-oriented software products, including AI application software, and data resource products, including token-based services, together generated CNY4.99 trillion in output value, accounting for 73.6% of the total, said Hu Jianbo, Dean of the Institute. Looking ahead, token-based services will give rise to new industrial ecosystems.
AI will open up new horizons for data industry development. Breakthroughs in AI-native data technologies and industrial innovation will accelerate, and the data industry will continue to maintain relatively rapid growth, said Hu. Chinese companies are also mapping their token business and even exploring overseas opportunities. Peng Hailin, who is from the Guizhou Data Treasure Network Technology Co, said that his company is already in talks with overseas manufacturers who have made substantial computing power requests. The sector is advancing so quickly that overseas computing power exports could begin as early as this year, with Southeast Asia likely leading the charge, he said. Overseas attendees at the Expo also hailed vast potential for cooperation among developing countries in emerging industries, the Global Times reports.
