Chinese scientists have announced a series of advances in weather forecasting and drug research and development thanks to quantum technology, showing that this field is gradually leaving the laboratory to go into practical use.
Researchers at Fudan University and the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) recently demonstrated that quantum mechanical learning can surpass large-scale classical neural networks in some practical weather forecasting tasks, including forecasting temperatures and humidity in urban areas.
In another breakthrough, technology company Origin Quantum and USTC researchers have developed a quantum-enhanced graph neuron network on the superconductive quantum computer Origin Wukong developed by China itself. This system increases the accuracy of screening for HIV-resistant drugs from 73% to 97% and the accuracy of predicting Alzheimer's treatment drugs from 64% to 70%.
Quantum communication is the furthest advancing field on the path of commercialization. More than 40 major cities in China have deployed urban quantum communication networks, creating infrastructure for quantum security services to enter commercial use.
At China Telecom Quantum Group, visitors can try a device that looks like a regular smartphone. When the quantum encryption call function is activated, the conversation is protected by a quantum lock distribution, making it impossible to decode information even if it is blocked.
The company said its communications, cloud and quantum integration digital platforms currently serve more than 7 million users and over 5,000 institutional customers in the fields of finance, healthcare, manufacturing and public services.
Quantum technology is also beginning to reshape the medical field. Each heartbeat creates an extremely weak magnetic field that conventional medical devices cannot detect directly, while quantum sensors measure these small signals.
An example is the magnetic cardiogram system developed by quantum technology company CIQTEK. Using a quantum spin magnetometer, the system can complete a heart scan in just a few minutes, giving doctors a new tool for early screening and assessing cardiovascular risk. This technology has been deployed in several major hospitals in China.
The most feasible direction for quantum computing today is not to replace supercomputers, but to combine the strengths of both technologies.
Inside the new generation computing cluster in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province, China's first domestically deployed hybrid quantum supercomputer center combines a high-performance supercomputer with two superconductive quantum computers and a trap ion quantum computer.
