China Unicom's AI Ambition: A Strategic Pivot in the Telecommunications Landscape

In the rapidly evolving landscape of telecommunications, China Unicom's recent announcement to boost its computing power investment by 28% year-on-year in 2025 is a strategic move that aligns with the broader trends in the global AI and telecommunications sectors. This investment is part of a larger initiative to integrate AI into its core operations, positioning the company at the forefront of the digital transformation wave sweeping through China and beyond.

The global AI market is experiencing unprecedented growth, with projections indicating that AI could account for 3.5% of global GDP by 2030. This surge is driven by the increasing demand for generative AI and large language model infrastructure, which requires significant computing power. China Unicom's decision to invest heavily in computing power reflects its commitment to capitalizing on this trend and leveraging AI to enhance its services and infrastructure.

One of the key advantages of China Unicom's strategic pivot towards AI integration is the ability to provide flexible, one-stop AI services for customers. By combining AI model training, inference, and cluster scheduling capabilities, China Unicom aims to deliver integrated operations of intelligent computing (AI-driven) and general computing. This aligns with the global trend of AI becoming mainstream and enhancing operations, as noted by Louise Easterbrook, CFO of the GSMA. China Unicom has already built 37 industry-specific AI models in the past year with its own large language model (LLM), demonstrating its capability to lead and drive the convergence of AI technologies and industrial applications.

Another strategic advantage is the potential to create new AI service portals with a global impact. As Yang Chaobin, Huawei Board Member and CEO of the ICT Business Group, mentioned, "Huawei looks forward to working with China Unicom to support their AI Unites All strategy. We will do this by facilitating a wide range of intelligent user applications with the latest AI technologies. This will allow China Unicom to create new AI service portals with a global impact and make intelligence more inclusive for all." This collaboration with Huawei, a strategic partner, further enhances China Unicom's position in the AI era.

Moreover, China Unicom's investment in AI-driven infrastructure positions it to capitalize on the next wave of digital transformation. The company's targeted investments and cost optimization measures, such as upgrading internet data centers into AI-optimized data centers, reflect its commitment to balancing profitability and innovation. This is evident in China Unicom's financial performance, with net profit rising 10.5% year-on-year to 9.03 billion yuan ($1.25 billion) in 2024, and revenue growing 4.6% to 389.6 billion yuan. The company's shares have also surged 16.94% year-to-date as of March 18, 2025, indicating investor confidence in its strategic direction.



China Unicom's AI Unites All plan is designed to integrate seamlessly with its existing 5G infrastructure, leveraging the strengths of both technologies to create a more intelligent and efficient telecommunication ecosystem. The plan envisions utilizing AI agents to comprehensively upgrade its home cloud and achieve full convergence of AI across a range of personal and home scenarios. This integration is expected to bring about several synergies:

1. Enhanced Network Performance: By combining AI with 5G, China Unicom aims to improve network performance significantly. For instance, the company has launched the industry's first HI-CON (Home Intelligent Collaborative Optical Network) communications system, which features optical and Wi-Fi collaboration powered by an intelligent scheduling algorithm. This system greatly improves the overall network experience for home users, ensuring a more reliable and efficient connection.

2. Innovative Services: The convergence of AI and 5G will enable China Unicom to offer innovative services that were previously not possible. For example, during the Asian Winter Games, China Unicom launched personalized and cloud-based AI phones with the AI assistant named Tone. This product uses mainstream foundation models and 5G-A networks to provide users with a consistent experience in all scenarios and secure and reliable AI services. This demonstrates how AI can enhance the capabilities of 5G networks to deliver more personalized and intelligent services.

3. Efficient Operations: AI can help optimize the operations of 5G networks, making them more efficient and cost-effective. China Unicom's AI Unites All plan includes the integration of AI tools such as Deep Seek for converged innovation, which can help operators transition from being communications service providers to technology service providers. This will enable them to provide more convenient and efficient services to customers.

4. Expanded Use Cases: The integration of AI with 5G will open up new use cases and applications. For example, China Unicom has been using AI to empower sectors like government, healthcare, and manufacturing, as well as cultural and creative industries. This has made network experiences more secure, reliable, flexible, scalable, efficient, and collaborative. By leveraging AI, China Unicom can create new AI service portals with a global impact, making intelligence more inclusive for all.

5. Strategic Partnerships: China Unicom's strategic partnership with Huawei is a key component of its AI Unites All plan. Both parties have built a cloud-based AI service platform for individual and home users, combining cloud, computing, networks, and devices for a unified AI service portal. This collaboration will facilitate a wide range of intelligent user applications with the latest AI technologies, allowing China Unicom to create new AI service portals with a global impact.

In summary, China Unicom's AI Unites All plan integrates with its existing 5G infrastructure by leveraging AI to enhance network performance, offer innovative services, optimize operations, expand use cases, and foster strategic partnerships. This convergence of technologies is expected to create a more intelligent and efficient telecommunication ecosystem, benefiting both the company and its customers.

China Unicom's strategic pivot towards AI integration is not without its challenges. The company faces stiff competition from other telecom giants such as China Telecom and China Mobile, as well as from global players like Huawei and ZTE. However, China Unicom's commitment to technological innovation and its aggressive investment in AI-driven infrastructure position it to gain a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving telecommunications landscape.

In conclusion, China Unicom's decision to boost its computing power investment in 2025 is a strategic move that aligns with the broader trends in the global AI and telecommunications sectors. By integrating AI with its existing 5G infrastructure, China Unicom aims to create a more intelligent and efficient telecommunication ecosystem, positioning itself at the forefront of the digital transformation wave. The company's commitment to technological innovation and its aggressive investment in AI-driven infrastructure position it to gain a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving telecommunications landscape. As the world continues to embrace AI and digital transformation, China Unicom's strategic pivot towards AI integration is a bold and visionary move that is likely to pay dividends in the years to come.