Stora tråden om Kina

“Google undoubtedly has excellent achievements in quantum computing and is leading the globe in some ways,” Zhang said. “In general, the US and Europe, with more quantum computing scientists, outpaces China in breakthroughs and talent acquisitions.”

Chinese enterprises have a shorter history of exploring quantum computing compared to their US counterparts. Google, for instance, first set up a quantum computer programme 13 years ago, while fellow US tech giant IBM has made intensive investments and built prototype machines over the years.

Chinese tech giants, including Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent and telecoms giant Huawei Technologies only began setting up labs for the development of quantum technologies in the past few years.

Still, the companies’ investments in the field echo Beijing’s recent quantum ambitions.

While China has not revealed its total investments in the field, it launched a “megaproject” for quantum communications and computing which aimed to achieve breakthroughs by 2030 as part of the country’s 13th five-year plan introduced in 2016.

China filed almost twice as many patents as the US in 2017 for quantum technology, a category that includes communications and cryptology devices, according to market research firm Patinformatics.

The US, however, leads the world in patents relating to the most prized segment of the field – quantum computers – thanks to heavy investment by tech giants including IBM, Google and Microsoft.