On February 1, 2026, China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom all issued announcements at the same time, revealing that the value-added tax (VAT) rate applicable to their telecom services would be adjusted upwards, from 6% to 9%. This adjustment stems from the 'Announcement on Specific Matters Related to the Scope of Value-Added Tax Collection' issued by the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration.

Effective January 1, 2026, business activities involving the provision of services such as mobile data, SMS, and internet broadband access via fixed-line and mobile networks will see their tax classifications change from value-added telecom services to basic telecom services. This reclassification will be accompanied by a corresponding rise in the tax rate.

All three major telecom operators have acknowledged that this adjustment will have an impact on their revenues and profits. According to their financial reports for the first three quarters of 2025, the revenues of China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom stood at RMB 794.7 billion, RMB 394.3 billion, and RMB 293 billion, respectively. However, their growth rates have all shown a downward trend, and they are currently facing growth bottlenecks. Despite these challenges, the operators are stepping up their efforts to transition into emerging businesses, including AI, computing power, and cloud computing, in a bid to discover new avenues for growth.