Recently, Google and China have independently announced advancements in quantum computing. Google’s Willow chip demonstrates “below-threshold” error correction, achieving a benchmark calculation in minutes that would take supercomputers billions of years. China’s Zuchongzhi 3.0 processor, with 105 qubits, exhibits comparable performance and plans to implement similar error correction techniques. Both achievements represent significant steps toward building practical, large-scale quantum computers, highlighting a global race for quantum advantage. The potential applications span numerous fields, including AI, medicine and energy. Unveiled last week by a research team led by physicist Jian-Wei Pan at the University of Science and Technology of China, the Zuchongzhi 3.0 has positioned the country as a notable competitor alongside the United States in the race to harness the potential of quantum computing. Zuchongzhi 3.0’s significance lies in its ability to achieve what is known as “quantum computational advantage,” a critical milestone in quantum computing. This term signifies the point where a quantum computer can execute calculations that would take classical computers, even the most powerful supercomputers, an impractically long time to complete.

Full report : China’s Zuchongzhi 3.0 processor, with 105 qubits, exhibits comparable performance with Google’s Willow quantum computing chip.