Chinese scientists unveiled a 105-qubit superconducting quantum computer prototype called “Zuchongzhi 3.0” on March 3, 2025. “Zuchongzhi 3.0” has 105 readable qubits and 182 connectors, and performs quantum random circuit sampling tasks a quadrillion times faster than the world’s most powerful supercomputer and 1 million times faster than Google’s results published in Nature in October 2024.

A qubit (quantum bit) is the basic unit of information in quantum computing. In classical computers, information is represented by bits, each of which can take on the value 0 or 1. However, qubits can exist in both 0 and 1 states at the same time, thanks to the superposition principle of quantum mechanics. This feature allows quantum computers to perform certain calculations much faster than classical computers.
Quantum computing advantage indicates the point at which quantum computers surpass the most advanced classical supercomputers in certain tasks. This milestone not only confirms the feasibility of quantum computing, but also provides a direct indication of a country’s research strength in this field. Quantum computers are capable of performing molecular and atomic-level simulations, enabling revolutionary advances in fields such as drug development, chemistry, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

China and the United States are global pioneers in quantum computing research, with both countries making groundbreaking advances on a rotating basis. In 2019 and 2020, the United States and China achieved quantum supremacy by launching quantum computing prototypes called “Sycamore” and “Jiuzhang,” respectively. In 2021, China became the first country to achieve quantum computing advantage in two major technical routes by successfully developing a 66-qubit programmable superconducting quantum computing system called “Zuchongzhi 2.1.” According to the research team, “Zuchongzhi 3.0” has achieved a globally leading level of quantum computing power by significantly improving key performance metrics compared to its predecessor “Zuchongzhi 2.1.” The work was published online in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Reviewers called the work “a benchmark of a new superconducting quantum computer that demonstrates best-in-class 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 to achieve quantum supremacy; the second step is to develop quantum simulators with hundreds of controllable qubits to address real-world problems that exceed the capabilities of supercomputers; and the third step is to significantly improve qubit control precision, integration scale, and error correction to develop programmable, general-purpose quantum computers.

The “Zuchongzhi 3.0” research team is actively researching various aspects such as quantum error correction, quantum entanglement, quantum simulation, and quantum chemistry. The team is currently conducting surface code error correction research with a code distance of 7. After making progress, they will expand it to 9 and 11, laying the groundwork for large-scale qubit integration and control.
These developments lay a critical foundation for practical applications of quantum computing and scalable quantum error correction, both of which are important for the future of quantum computing.

Source: https://english.news.cn/20250303/727767580e4a472ca44fd08f25666a25/c.html