Beijing, March 4, 2025 – The Europe Today: Chinese scientists have unveiled a groundbreaking superconducting quantum computer prototype, “Zuchongzhi 3.0,” with 105 qubits. The announcement, made on Monday (Beijing Time), marks a significant breakthrough in China’s quantum computing advancements.
This achievement establishes a new record in quantum computational advantage within superconducting systems. Developed by leading Chinese quantum physicists Pan Jianwei, Zhu Xiaobo, and Peng Chengzhi, “Zuchongzhi 3.0” features 105 readable qubits and 182 couplers. It processes quantum random circuit sampling tasks at a speed quadrillion times faster than the world’s most powerful supercomputer and one million times faster than Google’s latest results published in Nature in October 2024.
Quantum computational advantage, often referred to as “quantum supremacy,” denotes the point where quantum computers outperform the most advanced classical supercomputers in specific tasks. This milestone not only validates the feasibility of quantum computing but also serves as a direct indicator of a nation’s research strength in this field.
Currently, China and the United States lead the world in quantum computing research, with both nations alternately achieving groundbreaking advancements. In 2019 and 2020, the U.S. and China launched their respective quantum computing prototypes, “Sycamore” and “Jiuzhang,” achieving quantum supremacy. In 2021, China successfully developed a 66-qubit programmable superconducting quantum computing system, “Zuchongzhi 2.1,” making it the first country to achieve quantum computational advantage in two mainstream technical routes.
According to the research team, “Zuchongzhi 3.0” significantly enhances key performance metrics compared to its predecessor, “Zuchongzhi 2.1,” reaching a globally leading level of quantum computational power. The study has been published in the journal Physical Review Letters, where peer reviewers have praised the work as “benchmarking a new superconducting quantum computer with state-of-the-art performance” and “a significant upgrade from the previous 66-qubit device.”
The global scientific community has outlined a three-step roadmap for experimental quantum computing development. The first step is achieving quantum supremacy; the second involves developing quantum simulators with hundreds of controllable qubits to tackle real-world problems beyond supercomputers’ capabilities; and the third focuses on enhancing qubit control precision, integration scale, and error correction to develop general-purpose programmable quantum computers.
Quantum advantage represents a critical foundation for near-term applications and scalable quantum error correction, both essential for the future of practical quantum computing. The research team of “Zuchongzhi 3.0” is actively exploring multiple directions, including quantum error correction, quantum entanglement, quantum simulation, and quantum chemistry.
According to Zhu Xiaobo, the team is currently conducting surface code error correction research with a code distance of 7. After making progress, they aim to extend it to 9 and 11, paving the way for large-scale qubit integration and control.
