China to Boost Procurement of LLMs, AI Agents, and Token Services
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has launched a special initiative to cultivate over 3,000 AI application service providers by the end of 2027. The policy encourages the procurement of large language models (LLMs), AI agents, and token-based services through mechanisms like first-buy policies and risk compensation. This directive formalizes the integration of AI into Chinese industries, driving commercial adoption and establishing a structured ecosystem of AI service providers. By subsidizing and standardizing the procurement of LLMs and token services, China aims to accelerate the practical deployment of AI across various sectors. The initiative outlines key tasks including establishing a national provider resource pool, promoting "computing-power electricity coordination" (integrating power grids with AI data centers), and utilizing "computing power vouchers" to lower operational costs. It also emphasizes software-hardware adaptation, multi-model synergy, and active risk management for data security and compliance.
## BACKGROUND
As generative AI technologies mature, businesses transition from developing foundational models to deploying practical applications. "Token-based services" refer to API access models where usage is billed per token (units of text processed by AI), while "computing-power electricity coordination" is a Chinese infrastructure strategy designed to balance the massive energy demands of AI supercomputing clusters with green energy grids.