Chinese scientists have made significant progress in one of the most complex areas of modern technology, quantum computing, positioning themselves as a direct rival to American researchers in a field that promises to transform computing power and scientific possibilities in the next decade. A team from China, led by Professor Pan Jianwei of the University of Science and Technology of China, announced that their latest quantum computer, called Zuchongzhi 3.2successfully crosses the so-called fault tolerance threshold, a milestone that, according to available data, only Google’s quantum system has successfully reached.
This achievement, published in a prestigious scientific journal Physical Review Lettersrepresents a major step toward practically scalable quantum computers, devices that use the laws of quantum physics to solve problems that are beyond the reach of classical supercomputers. A key challenge in developing such systems is error: quantum bits or qubits are extremely sensitive and easily lose their condition due to external influences, which can lead to wrong results. Automatic error correction systems help, but often the superficial addition of control can create new sources of problems.
The Chinese team, unlike Google, which uses complex control electronics to reduce errors, applied an approach based on microwave control of qubits. This method uses precisely directed microwave signals that allow the system to stabilize without the need for additional hardware complications, suggesting that it could be a more efficient route to larger and more reliable quantum machines.
The fault tolerance threshold indicates the point at which the error correction process reduces, rather than increases, the total number of errors — that is, each additional layer of correction makes the system more stable. Crossing this threshold means that the device can theoretically be scaled to a larger number of qubits without collapsing stability, which is crucial for the practical application of such computers.
While this progress does not mean that China immediately has a fully functional quantum computer ready for commercial or wider deployment, it clearly shows that research outside the US can catch up and surpass some of the most advanced technological projects. Google experiments with a quantum chip Willow and its approach to error correction are often considered industry leaders, but China’s “microwave control” approach may be opening up a new, more efficient alternative.
The bigger picture of the quantum race involves more than just speed and stability: many nations and companies are working on different architectures and models — some focusing on optical quantum systems, others on molecular or topological qubits — with the ultimate goal of making quantum computing reliable and widely applicable. The success of the team from China is therefore not just a technical feat; it marks the geopolitical dimension of this technological competition in which quantum computers are recognized as a strategic resource with the potential to redefine data security, artificial intelligence, materials of the future, and numerous scientific disciplines.
Despite this success, there is still a long way to go before universally applicable quantum machines that could, for example, decipher complex cryptography or optimize global systems in real time. Still, crossing the threshold of fault tolerance remains one of the most important technological achievements along the way, and signals that the era of the quantum computing revolution may be arriving faster than expected, SCMP reports.