Science award signals China's inroads on frontier of 'deep blue'

Quantum progress

Another deep blue field that is emerging in China is quantum information technologies－applications that harness the peculiar properties of matter at the atomic level to achieve astonishing feats in communication and computing.

In 2016, China launched Micius, the world's first quantum communications satellite. The achievement marked a major milestone in space-based quantum communication that is theoretically hack-proof, which could be significant in the government, finance and defense sectors.

Given its strategic importance, nations such as the US, Japan, India and some European countries are racing to develop comparable technologies, according to the journal Nature.

In January, Pan Jianwei, who is recognized as China's top quantum scientist, announced that his team had created the world's largest integrated space-to-ground quantum network, which can provide ultrasecure communication between over 150 users over a total distance of 4,600 kilometers across China, according to a study published in the journal Nature.

Reviewers of the study hailed the achievement as "impressive" and "futuristic", as it represents a major step toward building a practical, large-scale quantum internet.

Pan said at a public event in July that humanity has entered the second quantum revolution, characterized by scientists actively manipulating the delicate quantum states of particles for practical applications instead of just passively observing them.

Two of the biggest challenges for modern information technologies are data security and a lack of computing power, which can be solved with new quantum machines, he said.