How far along is its commercial implementation?

On October 28, the ‘Suggestions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development’ (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Suggestions’) was officially released. This guiding document not only outlines the blueprint for China’s economic and social development over the next five years but also sends a strong signal emphasizing a science and technology innovation orientation.

Against the backdrop of the term ‘technology’ being mentioned 46 times and ‘innovation’ emphasized 61 times throughout the document, one particularly noteworthy statement is: ‘Promote frontier industries such as quantum technology to become new drivers of economic growth.’ This strategic deployment signifies that quantum technology has been formally integrated into the main channel of national economic development from a strategic level, foreshadowing China’s accelerated efforts in the new wave of global technological revolution and industrial transformation.

Then, with the explicit mention in the ’15th Five-Year Plan’ supporting the development of quantum technology, to what extent has China’s quantum technology progressed? What substantial breakthroughs have been achieved in its commercialization process? And how will it impact relevant industrial chains and even the broader economic landscape in the future?

Quantum Technology Transitions from ‘Frontier Exploration’ to ‘Growth Engine’

Looking back at the ’14th Five-Year Plan,’ quantum information was listed as one of the seven key frontier scientific fields prioritized by the country, with its focus primarily on fundamental research and breakthroughs in core technologies. However, this time, the ‘Suggestions’ in the ’15th Five-Year Plan’ explicitly propose to ‘promote quantum technology as a new driver of economic growth,’ indicating that policy priorities are shifting from ‘scientific breakthroughs’ towards ‘industrial applications’ and ‘economic empowerment.’

Behind this shift lies China’s profound insight into the global landscape of technological competition. At present, major world powers all regard quantum technology as a core area determining future technological dominance. The United States continues to invest tens of billions of dollars through the ‘National Quantum Initiative Act’; the European Union has launched the ‘Quantum Flagship Program’; and Japan is also accelerating its layout. In this context, if China aims to achieve high-level self-reliance and strength in science and technology, ‘seizing the commanding heights of quantum technology’ has become an inevitable choice.

The ‘Suggestions’ place particular emphasis on ‘strengthening the orientation of original innovation’ and ‘producing more landmark original achievements,’ while proposing to ‘optimize the environment conducive to original and disruptive innovation.’ This provides institutional support for the development of quantum technology. It can be foreseen that during the ’15th Five-Year Plan’ period, the state will increase its investment in the quantum field in terms of research funding, talent recruitment, and infrastructure construction, promoting the formation of a complete ecosystem encompassing ‘basic research – technical breakthroughs – industrial transformation.’

After more than a decade of sustained investment, China has achieved a series of world-class results in the field of quantum technology, with its overall capabilities firmly ranking among the top tier globally.

In the realm of quantum communication, China has achieved multiple ‘world-firsts.’ In 2016, China successfully launched the world’s first quantum science experimental satellite, ‘Micius,’ which realized the distribution of quantum entanglement over thousands of kilometers between space and Earth, verifying the feasibility of quantum key distribution at a spatial scale. Subsequently, China built the world’s first quantum secure communication backbone network, the ‘Beijing-Shanghai Trunk Line,’ covering 32 nodes, which has gradually expanded into the prototype of an ‘eight vertical and eight horizontal’ national quantum communication network. Currently, pilot applications based on quantum key distribution (QKD) have been implemented in various regions across government services, finance, power, and other sectors, with technological maturity and security far surpassing traditional encryption methods.

In the field of quantum computing, China has also made breakthrough progress. The ‘Jiuzhang’ series of photonic quantum computers developed by Pan Jianwei’s team at the University of Science and Technology of China have successively demonstrated quantum supremacy in performing ‘Gaussian boson sampling’ tasks, solving specific problems billions of times faster than classical supercomputers. The ‘Zuchongzhi’ superconducting quantum computer has also achieved programmable two-dimensional quantum walks and multi-qubit entanglement control, exhibiting significant scalability potential. Tech giants such as Baidu, Huawei, and Alibaba have also entered the fray, launching independently controllable quantum computing cloud platforms to lower public access barriers.

In the field of quantum precision measurement, China has achieved significant breakthroughs in areas such as atomic clocks, quantum radar, and quantum gravimeters. For instance, the cold-atom clock independently developed by China boasts an accuracy with less than one second of error over 30 million years, providing a more precise time reference for the BeiDou Navigation System. Quantum radar technology has demonstrated unique advantages in detecting stealth targets and is currently being tested in both military and civil aviation fields.

Overall, China holds a leading position globally in the field of quantum communication, and has also entered the top tier in quantum computing and quantum sensing, laying the foundation to transition from “catching up” to “running alongside” and even “taking the lead.”

From laboratory to market, application scenarios are gradually expanding.

Although quantum technology is still in its early stages of development, its commercial exploration has quietly begun and achieved initial implementation in multiple fields.

At present, quantum communication is the most commercially advanced area within quantum technology. Enterprises such as QuantumCTek, China Telecom, and Key Laboratory of Quantum Information have promoted quantum key distribution devices and solutions nationwide. In the financial sector, ICBC and China Construction Bank have piloted the use of quantum encryption technology to protect inter-provincial data center communications. In government affairs, local governments’ dedicated networks have adopted quantum security technologies to prevent data leaks. In the power system, State Grid uses quantum communication to ensure secure transmission of dispatch instructions. Moreover, the integration of quantum technology with 5G networks and the construction of quantum metropolitan area networks are accelerating. It is expected that during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, with cost reductions and technological standardization, quantum communication will evolve from “specialized use in key industries” towards “city-wide ubiquitous security networks.”

Quantum computing has not yet achieved generalization, but its computational advantages in specific fields have attracted significant attention from enterprises. Currently, the mainstream approach involves providing computing power services through “quantum cloud platforms.” For example, Baidu’s “Liang Yi Fu” platform, Huawei’s HiQ framework, and Origin Quantum’s “Origin Compass” operating system all allow research institutions and enterprise users to remotely access real quantum hardware or simulators. At the application level, quantum computing is attempting to address complex problems such as financial risk control, drug molecular simulation, and logistics optimization. For example, China Merchants Bank has explored using quantum algorithms to optimize asset portfolio allocation; pharmaceutical companies like Wuxi Apptec are testing the use of quantum computing to accelerate molecular-level computations in new drug development. Although these applications are still in the validation stage, they have already shown immense potential.

Quantum precision measurement technology holds disruptive potential in medical imaging, geological exploration, inertial navigation, and other fields. For instance, quantum magnetometers based on NV centers can be used for magnetoencephalography (MEG) detection with sensitivity far exceeding traditional equipment. Quantum gravimeters can explore underground resource distributions without drilling. Currently, some startups, such as Guoyi Quantum, have introduced commercial quantum sensor products widely applied in universities, research institutes, and industrial testing scenarios.

Despite the promising outlook, the full commercialization of quantum technology still faces multiple challenges. For example, insufficient technical maturity: current quantum computers have limited qubits and weak error correction capabilities, leaving a long way to go before achieving practical, universal quantum computing. Quantum devices rely on extreme conditions such as ultra-low temperatures and ultra-high vacuums, resulting in high construction and maintenance costs, which constrain their widespread adoption. Standards for quantum communication protocols, quantum computing architectures, and security certification have yet to be unified, affecting the coordinated development of the industry chain. There is also a severe shortage of interdisciplinary talents with expertise in quantum physics, computer science, and engineering, becoming a critical bottleneck for industrial growth.

The ‘15th Five-Year Plan’ ushers in the inaugural year of quantum industrialization.

The ‘15th Five-Year Plan’ explicitly lists quantum technology as a new growth driver, signaling that China is set to enter an accelerated phase of quantum industrialization. Over the next five years, the following trends are expected to gradually emerge:

National Key Projects Intensify: The country is expected to establish a ‘Major Quantum Technology Project’ to focus on breakthroughs in core components such as high-performance detectors and cryogenic electronics, operating systems, and software algorithms that represent critical bottlenecks.

Industrial Clusters Accelerate Formation: Centered around cities like Hefei, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, industrial parks are being developed under the concept of ‘Quantum+’, attracting upstream and downstream enterprises to form a complete industrial chain encompassing chip manufacturing, equipment integration, software development, and application services.

Capital Investment Continues to Grow: As policy becomes clearer, venture capital and industry funds will increase their support for quantum startups, promoting the transformation of technological achievements.

Deepening Cross-sector Integration: Quantum technology will deeply integrate with artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the Internet of Things, giving rise to new business models. For instance, ‘Quantum AI’ can be used to train more efficient models, while ‘Quantum Blockchain’ can build unbreakable distributed ledgers.

Coexistence of International Cooperation and Competition: While adhering to independent innovation, China will actively participate in the formulation of international quantum standards and promote the establishment of an open and inclusive technological ecosystem.

The ’15th Five-Year Plan’ positions quantum technology as a new economic growth point, not only affirming over a decade of China’s scientific and technological accumulation but also reflecting far-reaching strategic planning for future development. From the launch of ‘Micius’ to the advent of ‘Jiuzhang,’ China has accelerated its pace in the quantum field. With the arrival of favorable policies, quantum technology is rapidly moving from laboratory ‘black tech’ to become a market ‘new driver.’

It is foreseeable that during the ’15th Five-Year Plan’ period, China will accelerate the construction of an independently controllable quantum technology industrial system, promoting large-scale applications of quantum communication, practical breakthroughs in quantum computing, and the industrialization of quantum sensing. This will not only reshape the information technology landscape but also inject strong momentum into high-quality development, helping China gain the initiative and secure the future in global technological competition.

Author | Yuan Fang