China Speeds Up Construction of Space-Ground Integrated Quantum Network

(En.People.CN) According to the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), China has made a great number of major new and high-tech achievements during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).
Experiments including the quantum science satellite Mozi and the quantum communication line between Beijing and Shanghai conducted by Chinese scientists have enabled the country to build the prototype of the first space-ground integrated quantum communication network, said Qin Yong, director-general of the Department of High and New Technology of the MOST at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on Oct. 21.
On the whole, China is at the same level with developed countries in the field of quantum computation, according to Pan Jianwei, executive vice president of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
The research and development of quantum computers is a hotspot of the current international competition in the area of science and technology.
At the end of 2019, Chinese scientists teamed up with their counterparts from Germany and the Netherlands and realized the Boson sampling quantum computation by feeding 20 photons into a 60×60 mode interferometer for the first time in the world, setting new world records in four key indicators.
There is still a gap between China and developed countries in the field of quantum precision measurement, but the country is seeing rapid development in the field, Pan said.
At present, theoretical research results in quantum science and technology are adapted for practical use and engineering at a faster pace, while more and more enterprises are joining in the force driving the development of quantum science and technology.
Among the three major fields for the application of quantum science and technology, quantum communication has witnessed the most commercial results and the birth of a lot of upstream and downstream firms in the field.
quantum computation is regarded as the key engine of the next generation of information revolution, as it enjoys great prospects in such areas as cryptanalysis, weather forecast, oil exploration, as well as drug design.
Origin Quantum Computing Technology Co., Ltd., one of the over 20 quantum-related companies densely distributed along the 2,000-meter-long “quantum avenue”, or Yunfei Road, in the High-tech Industry Development Zone of Hefei, east China’s Anhui province, has almost been overwhelmed by various capital that came to it in the recent month. “More than 30 investment institutions came to us, and eventually we chose 11 of them,” said Zhang Hui, vice president of the company. In the past, the man had to toss about the country for financing.
Although it takes time to realize large-scale application of quantum computation, many companies are speeding up efforts in the field to seize the initiative in the development of relevant applications.