China ramps up quantum computing, AI efforts as race with US heats up: report

China plans to step up efforts to boost local technology sufficiency in quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI) as competition with the United States intensifies, a new report has revealed.

The government working report highlighted the need for China to ramp up its local capabilities in emerging tech in the face of mounting sanctions on crucial hardware and technology from Western powers.

AI has become the latest field in which the competition between China and Western powers has intensified. The U.S. has issued sanctions against Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), AMD (NASDAQ: AMD), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), and other American chip manufacturers to derail China, preventing them from shipping advanced chips to the country. In response, these companies have manufactured chips with a fraction of the processing power for Chinese users.

According to the government document, the Asian country must invest in boosting its local manufacturers to compete with Western rivals, Reuters reports.

“We will fully leverage the strengths of the new system for mobilizing resources nationwide to raise China’s capacity for innovation across the board,” says the government report.

Alfredo Montufar-Helu heads the China Center at the Conference Board and says China’s focus on emerging technology is part of President Xi Jinping’s effort to propel the country to global dominance. He added that this aligns with last year’s Central Economic Work Conference, which focused on tech self-reliance.

The Central Economic Work Conference is an annual meeting in which Chinese leaders set the agenda for the financial sector.

Aside from AI, the report delved into quantum computing, calling on greater investment to give China the lead in the rapidly evolving sector. China is in a race with the U.S. over quantum superiority, as with most technologies. However, unlike with AI, the gap is much smaller.

Guo Guoping, China’s leading quantum computing scientist and lawmaker, recently emphasized how critical the technology is, stating, “Building an independent industry chain for the sector has become one of China’s top priorities.”

Quantum computing could have vast ramifications for China’s military power. Experts believe that quantum computers could effortlessly decrypt all existing encryption methods; they even have a name for the day when all existing encryption will be rendered useless—Q-day. Some experts believe this day could be as soon as next year.

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