China’s AI and Quantum Computing Revolution: Leading the Global Tech Race
Artificial intelligence (AI) development in China
China is making rapid progress in the field of artificial intelligence. One of the most notable recent achievements is the emergence of an AI chatbot called DeepSeek, which has taken the world by storm and can be seen as part of the country’s long-standing “China Manufacturing 2025” plan.
In 2015, the Chinese government announced the “Made in China 2025” project, an ambitious plan to move away from its image as a country that simply makes low-quality products and become a hegemon of high-quality and advanced technology. The plan identified 10 key areas, including AI, quantum computing, electric vehicles, renewable energy, and battery technology, and in many areas, China is now making remarkable progress.
The number of AI companies in China has exceeded 4,700, of which about 15% (about 700) are adopting generative AI technology to conduct research and development. In particular, more than 200 large language models (LLMs) have been registered and are available to the public, and the number of users has exceeded 600 million.
China’s quantum computer development
China is also making rapid progress in the field of quantum computers. Recently, Chinese researchers announced that they have developed a prototype of a 105-qubit superconducting quantum computer called “Chu Chongzhi 3,” which is capable of sampling quantum random number circuits 1000 trillion times faster than the most powerful existing supercomputers.
In addition, Chinese startup Origin Quantum launched a 72-qubit superconducting quantum computer called “Origin Wukong,” which is built using indigenous Chinese technology. Origin Wukong is cloud-based and can be accessed and utilized remotely by more than 20 million people in 139 countries.
China is also actively cultivating quantum computing talent, with more than 60 universities now opening their own training programs to develop quantum computing talent.
Applying AI innovations in China
China focuses on the industrial application and commercialization of AI technology, and from 2019 to 2022, it has established 11 national-level AI innovation application pilots in 11 cities. These pilots reflect the characteristics of each region, leverage the strengths of industrial development, and explore application scenarios for AI in various fields such as manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, and finance.
China’s advances in AI and quantum computing go beyond mere technological development and aim to transform industrial structure, improve productivity, create new business models, and revitalize local economies.
Major AI unicorns in China
In addition to DeepSeek, there are several other notable AI startups in China, which have grown to become AI unicorns, dubbed the “six tigers.” They are Zhipu AI, MiniMax, Baichuan AI, Moonshot AI, StepFun, and Zero One, all of which have exceeded $1 billion in valuation.
Moonshot AI, in particular, unveiled its Kimi K1.5 model in January 2025, which is said to have inference capabilities that surpass those of American company Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet. Moonshot AI’s founder Yang Zhulin, 34, graduated from Tsinghua University and earned a PhD from Carnegie Mellon University’s Language Technology Institute, and the company raised $1 billion from Alibaba and others within a year of its founding.
China’s latest quantum computer advances
China has also made notable advances in the field of quantum computers. The third-generation superconducting quantum computer called “Bunyuan Wukong” has surpassed 20 million remote visits. In addition, two innovative quantum systems, Tianyan-504 and Xiaohong-504, are superconducting quantum computers with 504 qubits, which show that China has made significant progress in quantum computer technology.
Tianyen 504 was developed in collaboration between China Telecom Quantum Group, the Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and QuantumCTek, and will be integrated into the Tianyen Quantum Computing Cloud Platform, making it accessible to researchers around the world. The platform was launched in November 2023 and has attracted more than 12 million visitors and is used in more than 50 countries.
Differentiating China’s AI strategy
China’s AI strategy takes a different approach than the United States. China has access to vast amounts of data from its large internet user base and a relatively relaxed data regulatory environment to accelerate AI development. The Chinese government’s AI development strategy for 2025 goes beyond technological innovation and focuses on AI creating real economic value.
In particular, the strategy calls for the widespread adoption of AI technology in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, and agriculture, to improve productivity and accelerate digital transformation. China’s AI-related industries are expected to reach KRW 100 trillion by 2025.
China’s AI talent and development plans
In its 2017 “Next-Generation AI Development Plan,” China aims to become a major global center of innovation by 2030 and is accelerating research at the national level. As a result of these efforts, leading academic institutions such as Tsinghua University and Peking University have become prominent in AI research, with Zhejiang University jumping from 89th to 6th in the rankings, as the number of authors on papers jumped from 34 in 2020 to 906 in 2024.
DeepSeek has recently been aggressively recruiting talent with the goal of developing a general-purpose artificial intelligence (AGI) with human-like intelligence, offering a salary of 1.26 million yuan (approximately $250,000) for an AGI researcher.