China is closing the quantum technology gap

Patent data suggests Beijing’s push to be a global leader is beginning to bear fruit.

- Catherine Thorbecke

The world has been paying close attention to the global contest for supremacy in artificial intelligence (AI). But the separate race for quantum technology could have an even more profound impact on the geopolitical balance of power. While the US currently leads, China is narrowing the gap - fast.

Quantum technology harnesses the mind-boggling mechanics of quantum physics — the science of how particles behave at the atomic level — to build new kinds of computers, sensors and communication systems exponentially more powerful than today's.

As mathematician Hannah Fry explains, think of solving a maze: a traditional computer tries one path at a time; a quantum computer explores all the possibilities simultaneously. It has the potential to transform industries from medicine to finance and AI. McKinsey estimates that quantum technology could generate up to US$97 billion (S$126 billion) in revenue by 2035.

Despite the potential, quantum computing has largely remained confined to the lab or the realm of the theoretical. Scientists are still working through how to make systems reliable and scalable. It has yet to have the “ChatGPT moment” that catapulted AI into universal consciousness.

But that time is fast approaching, and the stakes are high. Breakthroughs could render all the encryption used by banks and governments on today’s internet useless, opening a critical new front in the global tech rivalry.