Quantum USA VS Quantum China
(Forbes) China understands the strategic importance of quantum technology to both its economy and its military. Many analysts, researchers, politicians, and military leaders believe the United States has allowed China to take the lead in many areas of quantum research.
President Xi funded a multi-billion-dollar quantum computing mega-project with the expectation of achieving significant quantum breakthroughs by 2030. He also committed billions to establish a Chinese National Laboratory for Quantum Information Sciences.
The January 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment report to the Senate conceded the United States’ lead in science and technology had been significantly eroded, mainly because of Chinese gains.
Thanks to investments by our tech giants— IBM IBM +0%, Google GOOGL +0%, and Microsoft MSFT +0%—the United States has maintained its lead in quantum computing.
Scott Aaronson is the David J. Bruton Centennial Professor of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin, and director of its Quantum Information Center. In an email to Moor Insights & Strategy, he said, “I think that China is ahead of the US right now in quantum communications, simply because they decided to invest a lot in that area while the US decided not to. I think that the US retains a strong lead in quantum ‘computation’.
