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Source: Global Times

[Global Times reporter Chen Zishuai and Zhang Weilan] As a core competitive field for global technological powers, quantum computing is gaining increasing attention. In addition to the competition for technology, the industrial application of quantum computing has also been pushed to a strategic level and is regarded as one of the important directions for cultivating future industries and building new quality productivity. Guo Guangcan (pictured), an 82-year-old academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is a pioneer and founder of China's quantum technology. In a recent interview with a Global Times reporter, he bluntly stated that quantum computing will become an irreplaceable new tool and new energy in the development of human society, as predicted at the beginning. So, how can quantum computing reconstruct human life, and how should my country currently promote the development of quantum computing?

Quantum computing has developed rapidly in the past 5 to 10 years

"Quantum computers are a symbol of national strength. With quantum computers, both national defense strength and national economic development will undergo earth-shaking changes." At the beginning of the interview, Guo Guangcan emphasized the importance of quantum computing to the Global Times reporter. However, in recent years, the international blockade of quantum computing has become increasingly prominent. For example, countries such as Britain and France have imposed export controls on related technologies and equipment. In May this year, the U.S. Department of Commerce included 37 Chinese entities in the trade restriction list, of which 22 entities were related to quantum computing.

Guo Guangcan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

Guo Guangcan said that the United States has long led Western countries to contain China, fearing that China will surpass itself in the field of quantum information, especially quantum computers, and has tried every means to hinder my country's access to various information and components. "This has indeed had an impact on the development of my country's quantum computing industry, but the United States cannot 'block' us."

"We had predicted that the United States would impose a technological blockade, and we focused on domestic substitution from the beginning." According to Guo Guangcan, 80% of the components of the latest independent superconducting quantum computer "Origin Wukong" developed by his team are domestically produced, including the most critical components. He said that the layout of basic materials and components will ensure that the development of quantum information technology in my country will not be affected and that it will be able to achieve complete independent control.

Guo Guangcan also mentioned that quantum computing has developed rapidly in the past 5-10 years. China is one of the countries with the fastest and best development of quantum information technology in the world, ranking in the first echelon, with a certain gap from the United States, but the gap is not large. Looking at future development, "quantum computing talents must be cultivated by ourselves", and the Chinese can cultivate "domestic" scientific and technological talents on their own land. "As long as we create a good academic atmosphere and provide sufficient support, young people will definitely grow quickly."

Why is application ecology important?

A US study shows that a quantum computer can complete a calculation task in 6 seconds, while the world's fastest electronic computer would take 47 years to run. Guo Guangcan told the Global Times that in terms of computing power, the ratio of quantum computers to electronic computers is equivalent to the ratio of electronic computers to abacus. "In the past, we have crossed from the abacus era to the electronic computing era. Everyone knows the help that mobile phones and computers have brought to mankind. If we can move from the electronic computing era to the quantum computing era, then there will be earth-shaking changes."

According to relevant reports, by October 2023, 29 countries and regions around the world have formulated and issued development strategies or bills in the field of quantum information. According to incomplete statistics based on public information, the total investment amount exceeds US$28 billion.

The Global Times reporter noted that all G7 countries have already laid out their quantum computer tracks. According to public reports, the CEO of IBM recently revealed that IBM has built more than 70 quantum computers and deployed them around the world.

Guo Guangcan said that foreign giant companies are trying to use quantum computing to solve key problems in their fields. "Advanced companies dare to try to apply it, and this market will emerge. They will feedback the problems to IBM during the application process, and IBM will immediately modify the performance according to user needs. This cycle is the ecosystem." However, China has not yet established an ecosystem for the application of quantum computing industry. Users do not have a long-term vision and most of them are waiting for general-purpose computers to come out before purchasing and using them. "There are relatively few people in China who dare to try to use advanced quantum computers to solve problems in their fields and explore better productivity in a cross-cutting way." He called on strategic entrepreneurs to explore and try: "The ecosystem determines the development speed of quantum computing. If we do not carry out applications and are always in a slow development stage, the gap between us and the United States will become larger and larger."

A Global Times reporter noted that some scholars said that the domestic quantum technology-related industries are just starting out and face many difficulties such as small industry scale, high technical barriers to implementation, talent shortage, and immature business models. It is extremely important to cultivate and expand an independent quantum industry ecosystem.

Guo Guangcan suggested that enterprises can try quantum computing applications through cloud platforms. For example, each region can establish a quantum computing center to discuss with them how to solve the problems that various industries need to calculate. The Global Times reporter noted that some cities in China have begun to pilot the layout of quantum computing industries. For example, the Hefei Municipal Government Work Report proposed to further accelerate the construction of the Quantum Information Future Industry Science and Technology Park.

Try quantum computers as a "small commodity" first

In what fields can quantum computing be used? According to some analysts, quantum computing is best suited to artificial intelligence, network security encryption, financial modeling, weather forecasting, and chemical molecular modeling. Guo Guangcan said that quantum computers have a wide range of uses, and can be well applied in biopharmaceuticals, finance, meteorology, and other fields.

But he also mentioned that quantum computing will not directly affect everyone's life. Computers and mobile phones can basically meet the daily needs of ordinary people. The most important feature of quantum computers is not to replace electronic computers, but to be compatible with them. When the electronic computer completes a problem very slowly, I can use quantum computers to replace it and speed up the progress. "Quantum computers have brought human computing power to a new level. Most people's lives are not directly related to quantum computing, but there is an indirect relationship, such as using quantum computing to accelerate the research and development of new drugs, which is related to the health of ordinary people."

Guo Guangcan told the Global Times that quantum computing cannot just be about publishing good articles, but also about its real applications and solving some specific problems. "The ultimate competition is who has the best quantum computing capabilities, and who can first put it into real applications to solve important problems of the national economy."

"No matter what technical route or system a quantum computer adopts, as long as it can be tried as a 'small commodity', it should be pushed to the market as soon as possible to provide pilot services to users." Guo Guangcan introduced that in January this year, my country's third-generation independent superconducting quantum computer "Origin Wukong" was launched. At present, the global access volume has exceeded 1,200 times, and it has completed 250,000 quantum computing tasks issued by users in 125 countries around the world. This is the first time that my country has provided independent quantum computing services to the world for a long time and on a large scale.

At the same time, we must also work hard on the basic research of quantum computing to find faster and better solutions than the current ones. Guo Guangcan further said that the current breakthrough in quantum computing is to reduce the number of physical quantum bits required to build a logical quantum bit, and he hopes that domestic scientists can pay more attention to breakthroughs in this area. "We can't wait for foreign achievements. Following the pace of others will definitely fall behind. We must have our own original ideas. Grasp the core issues and come up with your own original ideas, and then realize them. If you want to surpass, you must take this path, rather than following the opinions of others. This kind of competition will sooner or later lead to elimination."

It is worth noting that with the development of quantum computing prototypes, software development, and application exploration in recent years, the industry chain in the field of quantum computing has taken shape. According to statistics from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the number of quantum computing-related companies in the world has exceeded 250, with the highest concentration of European and American companies, and the number of participants in all links of the industry chain has gradually increased.