Hefei, October 10 (ZXS) -- Why is China's quantum computing concentrated in Hefei?

——Interview with Guo Guangcan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Guo Guoping, deputy director of the Key Laboratory of Quantum Information of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor of the University of Science and Technology of China

China News Agency reporter Zhang Jun Wu Lan

The 2nd CCF Quantum Computing Conference and Quantum Computing Industry Summit was recently held in Hefei, Anhui, and nearly 1,000 quantum computing talents gathered together. Why is quantum computing concentrated in Hefei? What revolutionary changes will quantum computing bring to human society? Focusing on the above topics, Guo Guangcan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guo Guoping, deputy director of the Key Laboratory of Quantum Information of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor of the University of Science and Technology of China, recently accepted an exclusive interview with the "East-West Question" of China News Agency.

The following is a summary of the interview:

China News Agency: At present, international academic research and industrial applications of quantum computing are in a stage of rapid development, and countries around the world are vying to deploy quantum computers. What revolutionary impact will quantum computing have on human society?

Guo Guangcan: I began to devote myself to quantum optics research in the early 20s of the 80th century, and expanded to the budding field of quantum information in the 90s. The birth of quantum information marks that human society will move from classical technology to a new era of quantum technology, commonly known as the second quantum revolution.

In the first quantum revolution, human beings developed computers, the Internet, etc. based on the principles of quantum mechanics, which contributed to the prosperity of human society for half a century. Modern information technology is a classical technique derived from quantum mechanics; The second quantum revolution will open up quantum computing technology based on quantum mechanics for mankind, and its performance breaks through the physical limits of classical technology, pushes information technology to a new stage of development, and will surely promote earth-shaking changes in human society.

The research team of the University of Science and Technology of China and collaborators built the 76-photon quantum computing prototype "Chapter <>". The picture shows the physical diagram of optical quantum interference. University of Science and Technology of China Courtesy photo

The greatest advantage of quantum computing is that it is fast, and it has extremely high computing speed when dealing with certain specific problems, far exceeding that of classical supercomputers. Quantum computing is most likely to be the first to show its popularity in financial services, such as portfolio optimization and risk analysis, which have proven to have significant advantages. Also in the field of biochemistry, efficient quantum chemistry simulation will play an important role in biopharmaceuticals, new materials and energy, chemical and other fields. In addition, thanks to the characteristics of parallel data processing and the huge information storage space of quantum states, quantum computing will also become the key to development in the fields of big data and artificial intelligence.

China News Agency: What is the process of Hefei quantum computing from basic research to industrial development?

Guo Guangcan: Based on my personal experience, there are four points in time. More than 8013 years ago, when quantum computing was just budding internationally, in an idle classroom numbered "6" in the school (University of Science and Technology of China), my student Guo Guoping and other students formed a team of <> people to explore how to build China's quantum computer in reality, which is the first step in the basic research of quantum computing in Hefei.

On February 2023, 2, four "Made in China" quantum computers of Origin Quantum were unveiled in Hefei, Anhui Province, and were opened to Chinese citizens for free for the first time. Photo by Chu Weiwei

Then, in order to adapt to the cutting-edge trend of equal emphasis on scientific research and engineering technology of quantum computing technology, in 2017, in the absence of companies willing to invest and cooperate in the development of quantum computers, Guo Guoping and I led the students in the laboratory to create Origin Quantum. We hope to turn our research results into products in quantum computing, not just in laboratories, storybooks, and proceedings. Every mountain opens the road, meets the water to build a bridge. Quantum chips, quantum computing measurement and control all-in-one machines, quantum operating systems, quantum software, quantum computing cloud platforms... We move forward one step at a time.

Until September 2020, Origin Quantum publicly announced the launch of a quantum computing cloud platform equipped with a 9-bit superconducting quantum processor in Hefei. At that time, this platform could not solve big problems and was not very useful, but it was developed based on a quantum processor that operated according to the laws of quantum mechanics and was an authentic quantum device. By building a cloud platform, it is possible to meet people's need for quantum computing to "try early" - this is a very preliminary but important step.

The quantum computer model machine built by Hefei "Origin Quantum" allows visitors to feel the quantum computer more intuitively. Photo by Wu Lan

In 2021, Origin Quantum delivered a quantum computer to users. Quantum computers are only being projected into reality step by step from basic research to industrial applications. Subsequently, quantum computing applications in finance, communications and other aspects were successively launched.

China News Agency: In recent years, Hefei has focused on the direction of quantum science and technology, built a quantum information future industrial science and technology park, extended the development of "quantum +" cross-border integration industrial direction, and created a global quantum science and technology innovation and industrial development "test field". What advanced achievements in quantum computing research and industry have been born in Hefei?

Guo Guangcan: Hefei is the first provincial capital city in China to carry out strategic planning and systematic layout for the development of quantum science and technology, the only city in China that has both independent quantum computer hardware and operating software system, and the only provincial capital city in China with a quantum computer chip production line.

On October 2013, 10, researchers in the Key Laboratory of Quantum Information of the Chinese Academy of Sciences at the University of Science and Technology of China displayed a quantum chip made of gallium arsenide (black square part). Photo by Sun Zifa

Marked by the establishment of the first quantum computing research group in 2003, Hefei quantum computing has gone through a 20-year development process, from the global backward level to the delivery of the first quantum computer in 2021.

In 2022, Hefei released China's first quantum computer and supercomputer collaborative computing scheme, which can realize the efficient collaboration of quantum computing and supercomputer, so as to give full play to the respective advantages of quantum computers and supercomputers in both directions while greatly saving resources.

Local diagram of a quantum computer. Photo courtesy of Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center

In 2023, Hefei enterprises and the world's most used communication operators explored the application of quantum algorithms for the first time, Hefei quantum computing power was used by financial institutions for anti-fraud and anti-money laundering for the first time, and Hefei enterprises and Shanghai Supercomputing Center jointly established the first Yangtze River Delta quantitative super collaborative innovation center.

In the same year, China's first communication network optimization algorithm based on a universal quantum computer was successfully verified in Hefei.

China News Agency: What is the future development trend of quantitative and super-integration?

Guo Guoping: The collaborative work of quantum computers and supercomputers is called "quantitative superfusion". The introduction of quantum computing as a new computing paradigm can provide new solutions and ideas for solving computational problems. For example, quantum computing can be used in areas such as optimization problem solving, simulating physical systems, and cryptography, which cannot be effectively handled by conventional computers.

Academician Guo Guangcan introduced China's first quantum computer control system with completely independent intellectual property rights successfully developed by Hefei "Origin Quantum". Photo courtesy of Visual China

With the development of science and technology, the demand for solving high-complexity, large-data problems in some industries is becoming more and more significant, and the solution of these complex problems usually brings huge computing resource costs, which puts forward higher requirements for the existing supercomputing efficiency, and quantitative hyperfusion can achieve quantum classical computing power complementarity. Quantum computing can accelerate key steps in complex problems, reduce the solution time of complex problems, and improve the efficiency of solving complex problems with collaborative supercomputing.

China News Agency: The quantum computing global developer platform was officially launched in Hefei last year. The development of quantum computing requires the joint efforts of researchers from all over the world, what is the space for international cooperation and exchange?

Guo Guoping: Quantum computing is like a cave, we don't know if there is treasure in it, but we must have the courage to rush in and see what it looks like. The research being done so far is just knocking on the door of quantum technology, and it is still full of thorns in the technological breakthroughs of many physical systems, which is essentially more like a marathon.

At the National "13th Five-Year Plan" Science and Technology Innovation Achievement Exhibition held at the Beijing Exhibition Center, the "Chapter 9" quantum computing prototype model attracted visitors. Photo by Jiang Qiming

Quantum computing is actually a technology for the entire human society, and its transformation to society is self-evident. Research institutions around the world can work together on research projects on quantum computing, share resources and technologies, and learn from each other's experiences and discoveries.

At present, laboratories, enterprises and research institutions in different countries abroad have cooperated to carry out quantum computing experiments, and they have accelerated the progress of quantum computing technology by sharing equipment, resources and technologies, investing resources and manpower in hardware, software, algorithms and other aspects, and jointly researching and developing key technologies and applications of quantum computing. (End)

Respondent Profile:

Guo Guangcan is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the University of Science and Technology of China, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, an academician of the Third World Academy of Sciences, and the director of the Key Laboratory of Quantum Information of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Mainly engaged in the theoretical and experimental research of quantum optics, quantum cryptography, quantum communication and quantum computing, he served as the chief scientist of the 973 project "quantum communication and quantum information technology" of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, and the pioneer and founder of quantum optics and quantum information in China.

Guo Guoping, professor and doctoral supervisor of University of Science and Technology of China, deputy director of the Key Laboratory of Quantum Information of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has long been engaged in semiconductor quantum computing related research, and serves as the chief scientist of the National Key Basic Research and Development Program A (Super 973).