China is fast-tracking quantum technologies, from lab breakthroughs to large-scale commercial use, as the country rolls out major application plans and opens powerful quantum computing services to global users.
This year marks the United Nations' International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ), as quantum computing, measurement and communication begin reshaping daily life.
In east China's Anhui Province, a superconducting quantum computer capable of finishing complex tasks in 10 minutes, work that would take the world's fastest current supercomputer about 16,000 years to complete, has been opened for global public use for the first time.
"We have built an integrated computing platform that allows users to access quantum machines online. Quantum services can now support fields such as weather forecasting, biochemistry and fintech. The future use of quantum computing could become as easy as using water or electricity," said Mao Xiaoxiao, director of the quantum products team at China Telecom's Anhui branch.
The province is now supporting a move from technical breakthroughs toward scaled industrial adoption.
Anhui has more than 100 companies in the quantum industry chain, with the high-tech zone in its capital Hefei hosting a cluster covering quantum computing, communications and measurement.
Earlier this month, Anhui launched a "1,000 quantum information technology application scenarios" campaign, targeting applications in secure quantum communications, quantum computing and precision measurement. Authorities aim to deploy 1,000 quantum application scenarios by 2027 and expand that to 3,000 by 2030.
"China is building a quantum technology industry cluster driven by both technological innovation and real-world application scenarios. Efforts are underway to foster an ecosystem that integrates offline industrial agglomeration with online open-source development and provides precise, full-lifecycle services. At the same time, industry players are actively exploring the use of quantum computing in areas such as financial risk analysis and gene-sequence matching, as well as pilot applications of quantum communication technologies in autonomous driving and drone-swarm operations," said Wen Xiaojun, head of the Cybersecurity Institute at the China Center for Information Industry Development (CCID).
China accelerates quantum tech push with major application drive
