Shock! U.S. media says China has invested $25 billion in quantum technology
Recently, Amara Graps of the American website Quantum Computing Report wrote an article entitled "How Much Money Has China Already Invested into Quantum Technology?" . The article states that it is difficult to estimate how much money the Chinese government has invested in quantum technology, but here attempts are made to estimate using verifiable and publicly sourced information.
China's quantum technology funding topics include quantum information research, quantum control, quantum sensing, quantum materials, quantum dots, quantum cryptography, quantum chips, plus quantum communication that China is actively promoting. For quantum communications, China's most compelling quantum technology implementation is their quantum-secure communications network, the regional "trunk line," combined with the quantum satellite "Mozi".
China's first integrated quantum communication network (January 2021)
The National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences provide funding for many other areas of quantum technology.
In addition, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Science and Technology of China, with the support of research institutes across China, have built a new National Laboratory for Quantum Information Science, possibly the largest quantum research institution in the world - CAS Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics center. Below is a photo of Research Building No. 1 when it is about to be completed in Hefei. The building's strange shape pays homage to Einstein's quantum equation for light, E=hv.
Research Building Number 1 of the CAS Center for Excellence on Quantum Information and Quantum Physics in Hefei High-tech Zone
Another quantum project funded is the "Institute of Quantum Information and Quantum Science and Technology Innovation" ("Institute of Quantum Innovation"), which aims to support the aforementioned national laboratories while also promoting the development of the quantum industry in Hefei and beyond.
The article said that by 2018, China's total investment will be at least 5 billion US dollars, and the communication network including quantum satellites may reach 10 billion US dollars. In addition to this, the National Laboratory for Quantum Information Science and the important Institute for Quantum Innovation will receive $15 billion in funding through approximately 2022.
As a result, it is estimated that the Chinese government will invest at least $25 billion in quantum technology from the mid-1980s to 2022, not including private investment under the current Five-Year Plan.
Regarding this statement, Lu Chaoyang, a quantum physicist at the University of Science and Technology of China, once said that this statement is largely based on media rumors (not officially confirmed).
Why is the Chinese government investing quantum technology?
Quantum technology has dual uses, the article said, and could "offset" a key pillar of U.S. military power, potentially undermining key technological advantages.
In 2013, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden disclosed the extent of U.S. intelligence capabilities and activities in China. According to Pan Jianwei, the incident has greatly increased China's national cybersecurity activities and heightened the urgency of his work.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said China has become a clear leader in quantum cryptography research and development, while building a national quantum communications infrastructure that could better protect sensitive military and government communications from potential adversaries' signals intelligence and cyber espionage capabilities . According to reports, China's National Laboratory for Quantum Information Science will conduct research that is "directly useful" to the Chinese military.
Link:
https://quantumcomputingreport.com/how-much-money-has-china-already-invested-into-quantum-technology/
