context: As the US is driving decoupling efforts in high-tech sectors such as quantum and AI, the PRC is striving to break the bottlenecks through expanded domestic demand. Beijing will leverage growing R&D investment (2.68 percent of GDP in 2024) to focus on breakthrough tech in the field, and quantum is considered one of the three new pillar industries alongside brain–computer interfaces and the metaverse.
The PRC quantum drive is entering a fresh phase as 2025 has been declared the UN International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, marking one hundred years since quantum mechanics, reports 21st Century Business Herald. Global giants are stepping up, while Beijing’s policy and capital are moving fast to back domestic players.
Quantum tech is named a future industry in the 15th 5-year plan proposal, alongside biomanufacturing, hydrogen and fusion energy, brain-computer interface, embodied intelligence and 6G. The field is positioned as one of three core investment fields with AI and high-end equipment. A C¥51 bn Strategic Emerging Industries Fund led by China Reform Holdings launched on 29 October. China Guoxin invested C¥15 bn, with 13 central SOEs and Beijing’s Xicheng district joining.
The PRC quantum computing market size grew from C¥24 million in 2019 to C¥5.021 bn in 2023; and forecasts see C¥25.646 bn by 2028 with a rising global share, according to 21st Century Business Herald. Two hubs of quantum have formed in Hefei and Beijing.
Yet profit remains weak, top firm QuantumCTek booked −C¥26.47 million in net profit in the first three quarters of 2025; overseas peers IonQ, D‑Wave and Rigetti also post large losses.
Hybrid quantum-classical is set as the near‑term route, with quantum as a task‑specific accelerator integrated into large classical workflows. Promising use cases are now in biopharma and materials, such as small‑sample drug design and physics‑grounded models such as Boltzmann machines. Early pilots include
- Origin Quantum’s ‘Wukong’ used for breast cancer screening and small‑molecule design
- MicroEra’s drug platform moved some projects to clinics
- Liangxuan Tech applied quantum neural nets to ATM placement
Single‑point breakthroughs next year and a strong upswing the year after are expected, and those who win the ecosystem win the market, argues Ma Yin 马寅 BosonQ founder and CEO. As the ‘age of exploration’ now begins in quantum computing, practical quantum computing beyond single hardware feats should be pursued, Ma adds.