China Just Did It Again. Jiuzhang 4.0, The Photonic Quantum Computer Solves In Seconds What Would Take Classical Computers Longer Than The Universe Has Existed
According to Rich Washburn, China’s Jiuzhang 4.0, a photonic quantum computer developed by Pan Jianwei’s team at the University of Science and Technology of China, just completed a calculation in 25.6 microseconds that would take a classical computer 10 to the power of 42 years to replicate.
To put that in perspective, the entire known universe is only around 10 billion years old. This is not a performance gap. It is a completely different league.
But here is what makes this even more remarkable. In the last 90 days alone, China has unveiled three quantum computers running three entirely separate architectures. Hanyuan-1, a room temperature system already shipping to customers, Zuchongzhi 3.0, a superconducting system claiming to be one million times faster than Google’s best, and now Jiuzhang 4.0, a light based system with capabilities no classical machine can touch.
China is running all three approaches simultaneously, backed by state coordination and 15 billion dollars in committed funding.
The US has more private capital and more individual talent. But China has something harder to replicate — a unified national strategy executing across multiple fronts at once.
This is not just a tech story. It is a geopolitical one. Like this science and tech focused news? Read our previous article here.
