TECH

China Unicom Slashes Spending, Pivots Harder to AI

Published: Mar. 20, 2026 4:10 a.m. GMT+8

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China Unicom has steadily reduced capital expenditure in recent years, with spending declining from 74.2 billion yuan in 2022 to 61.4 billion yuan in 2024 and 54.2 billion yuan in 2025. Photo: VCG

China United Network Communications Group Co. Ltd. (China Unicom) plans to cut capital expenditure by nearly 8% in 2026 while allocating more than one-third of its budget to computing infrastructure, underscoring a strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence.

The state-owned telecommunications operator expects capital spending to fall 7.75% to about 50 billion yuan ($7.2 billion) in 2026 from 54.2 billion yuan in 2025, Chairman Dong Xin said Thursday at the company’s annual earnings briefing.

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China Unicom will cut 2026 capital expenditure by 7.75% to 50 billion yuan, with over one-third allocated to computing infrastructure for AI.
AI-related revenue rose over 140% in 2025, and data-center revenue grew 8.5% to 28.1 billion yuan; computing businesses made up 15.4% of total revenue.
Overall 2025 revenue increased 0.7% to 392.2 billion yuan, net profit grew 1.1% to 9.1 billion yuan, and dividends rose 3.1% year over year.

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Who’s Who

China United Network Communications Group Co. Ltd.: China United Network Communications Group Co. Ltd. (China Unicom) is a state-owned telecommunications operator pivoting its strategy toward artificial intelligence. They plan to cut capital expenditure by nearly 8% in 2026, allocating over one-third of their budget to computing infrastructure. This shift aims to meet surging domestic AI demand, despite slowing growth in traditional core businesses.

ByteDance Ltd.: ByteDance Ltd. is a Chinese technology company that, along with Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., is racing to develop generative AI applications across various industries. This pursuit by major tech firms is driving Chinese telecom giants, like China Unicom, to prioritize computing infrastructure to meet the surging domestic demand for AI development.

Tencent Holdings Ltd.: Tencent Holdings Ltd., along with ByteDance Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., is one of the Chinese technology companies actively developing generative AI applications across various industries. This push aligns with a broader trend among Chinese tech giants to invest heavily in AI development.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is among Chinese technology companies actively developing generative AI applications across various industries. This push for AI development highlights a broader trend among Chinese tech giants to invest heavily in computing capacity.

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What Happened When

2022：: China Unicom capital expenditure was 74.2 billion yuan.

2024：: China Unicom capital expenditure declined to 61.4 billion yuan.

2024：: China Unicom’s intelligent computing capacity exceeded 17 EFLOPS.

2024：: China Unicom's core business revenue share from computing-power-related businesses increased by 1.1 percentage points compared to 2023.

2025：: China Unicom capital expenditure further declined to 54.2 billion yuan.

2025：: China Unicom reported more than 140% growth in AI-related revenue; data-center revenue rose 8.5% to 28.1 billion yuan; cloud revenue increased 5.2%; computing-power-related businesses accounted for 15.4% of total revenue; strategic emerging sectors contributed more than 86% of total revenue.

2025：: Total revenue rose 0.7% to 392.2 billion yuan, net profit increased 1.1% to 9.1 billion yuan, compared with growth of 4.6% and 10.5%, respectively, in 2024.

2025：: Full-year dividend payout totaled 0.4 yuan per share, up 3.1% from 2024, with a payout ratio of 61.3%.

By the end of 2025：: China Unicom’s intelligent computing capacity reached 45 EFLOPS; the company operated more than 1.1 million data-center racks and completed seven 100-megawatt AI data-center parks; the company added more than 9,000 kilometers of backbone optical cable in 2025.

Thursday, March 19, 2026：: Chairman Dong Xin announced at the annual earnings briefing that capital spending is expected to fall 7.75% to about 50 billion yuan in 2026 from 54.2 billion yuan in 2025. Share prices fell 0.4% to 5 yuan in Shanghai and to HK$7.5 in Hong Kong.

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