Guo is a quantum physicist at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in the southeastern province of Anhui and a key figure in China’s quantum computing technology leadership.

His proposal comes in the lead-up to the start next week of the annual “two sessions”, a gathering of legislators and political advisers in Beijing.

He said the development of quantum computers had entered a new stage where foreign institutions and companies were putting great effort into engineering and industrial applications in addition to conducting research in the laboratory.

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China and the United States are among major world powers racing to be No 1 in using the key technology, which has the potential to transform many fields, including healthcare, finance and data security.

Despite making significant progress, Guo said China’s quantum computing still faced hurdles in terms of technological self-sufficiency and industrialisation.

In an article published in September on a website run by Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, Guo said China should step up research into core hardware and software technology, including those dominated by Western countries, such as dilution refrigerators and quantum processors.

Guo also acknowledged the nature of the gap between China and the West in the industrial application of quantum computing. “There is a decoupling between research and applications,” he wrote, noting that China’s R&D costs for quantum computing were high, but that there was a lack of robust market demand to drive the research.

Guo proposed that from computing power layout to quantum chip production, authorities should carry out medium and long-term strategic planning to promote industrial growth, such as boosting financial investment and nurturing talent.

A quantum scientist and manager of a Wuhan-based start-up in the field agreed on the need for state-level industrial support policies and investment while the technology was in its infancy and on the eve of widespread practical application.

The researcher, who spoke on condition of anonymity, noted that support should be comprehensive, covering universities, research institutes and companies developing quantum computing, and from upstream to downstream in the industrial chain.

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This scale of government support was given to China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry. Since the launch of its first New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan in 2008, a range of policies such as nationwide vehicle subsidies, helped China become the world’s largest EV producer with extensive supply chains.

“As quantum technologies become more mature and production scales up, the supply chains for quantum devices will become an increasingly important policy issue,” said Edward Parker, a physicist at the California-based think tank Rand Corporation and lead author of a report on quantum technology published in February 2023.

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But quantum computing is still a fledgling field, with teams around the world using different physical approaches – including superconducting, photonic and neutral atomic pathways – to develop a quantum computer.

This can pose a challenge in the development of supply chains as the industry has yet to consolidate around a single approach, according to Parker.

The Chinese researcher said that, in such circumstances, it was wise for Beijing to strengthen supply chains for different approaches to reduce risk rather than bet on a particular strategy.