China leads the world in quantum communications 

China has already begun to establish quantum communications networks in several cities, and is currently building a 1,000-kilometer quantum communications line connecting Beijing and Shanghai. A quantum communications satellite will launch in July. 

Based on the principles of quantum physics, quantum communication provides a new way to process information, including encoding, storage, transmission and logic operations, as well as the precise manipulation of photons, atoms and other microscopic particles. All this ensures the security of communications and enhances computing speed. 

Information security is a necessity in modern society, and quantum communication features, at least theoretically, perfect, unconditional security. It has great significance when it comes to military, financial and personal privacy. 

"Traditionally, secure encryption and transmission of information is dependent on complex algorithms," said Pan Jianwei, a Chinese quantum scientist and professor at the University of Science and Technology of China. "But with the increase in computing power, the complex algorithms are bound to be cracked." 

Quantum communication boasts ultra-high security, as a quantum photon can neither be separated nor duplicated. It is therefore impossible to wiretap, intercept or crack information transmitted through quantum communication, said Pan.

Pan led his team to achieve secure quantum distribution using an optical fiber over a distance of 100 kilometers in 2007; in 2008, his team built the world's first all-access quantum communications network, and in 2012 they created the first large-scale quantum communications network. 

Through additional research, the team hopes to transition from local quantum communications networks to building a global network, which would ensure the absolute security of information transmission. 

China will launch its first experimental quantum communications satellite in July. It will be the first of its kind in the world.

Pan also predicted that within a decade or so, it will be possible to create a special quantum computer or quantum simulator, in which the computing power is 10 billion times faster than that of a conventional computer.