China has moved ahead of Google with a much more powerful quantum computer

Last Thursday, December 6, China presented its most advanced quantum computer to date. It was developed jointly with China Telecom Quantum Group (CTQG), another Quantum Information center and a leading company in the field.

This quantum computer, called Tianyan-504, achieved a new important national record, exceeding the threshold of 500 qubits, which is a measure used to check the computer’s ability to process quantum information.

This record is not just a question of speedbut a demonstration of China’s ability to take quantum computing to higher levels.

The Chinese quantum computer: faster than Google and IBM

The Tianyan-504 was equipped with the 504-qubit chip called Xiaohong and developed by China Telecom Quantum Group (CTQG) in association with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the company QuantumCTek Co.

CTQG stated that this chip not only stands out for its number of qubits, but also for key metrics such as lifetime and readout fidelity of the qubits. In this way, it places China’s new quantum computer as a worthy rival with international competitors such as IBM or Google.

Although, this is not China’s first significant advance in the quantum field.. In 2020, scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) managed to achieve the quantum advantage with the Jiuzhang prototype, capable of detecting up to 76 photons.

In the following years, the team led by Pan Jianwei introduced new versions such as Jiuzhang 2.0, which could detect 113 photons, and Zuchongzhi 2.1 of 66 qubits, devices that explored the capabilities of both photonics and superconducting quantum computing.

China’s strategy is positioned more long-term and diversifying its advances to make the most of real applications, and thus outperform your competitors on all fronts.

According to a statement from the Chinese Academy of Sciencesthe new quantum computer will be integrated into China Telecom’s “Tianyan” quantum cloud platform, launched in November 2023. This platform allows researchers and companies around the world to access quantum technology without the need to invest in expensive equipment .

With more than 12 million users in 50 countries, Chinese quantum cloud is becoming a key resource for exploring real-time applications. This also reinforces China’s technological leadership by making its quantum computer globally accessible and attractive.

As China advances, other countries such as the United States and Germany are also intensifying their efforts. Quantum computing has become a strategic field, with economic, scientific and security implications.

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Tags: Computers