Chinese quantum physicist Zhu Xiaobo (1st L) has a discussion with his students at a laboratory in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, on March 3, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese scientists unveiled a superconducting quantum computer prototype named "Zuchongzhi 3.0" with 105 qubits on Monday (Beijing Time), marking a breakthrough in China's quantum computing advancements.

The achievement also sets a new record in quantum computational advantage within superconducting systems.

Developed by Chinese quantum physicists Pan Jianwei, Zhu Xiaobo, Peng Chengzhi, etc., "Zuchongzhi 3.0" features 105 readable qubits and 182 couplers. It processes quantum random circuit sampling tasks at a speed quadrillion times faster than the world's most powerful supercomputer and 1 million times faster than Google's latest results published in Nature in October 2024.

Quantum computational advantage, also known as "quantum supremacy," refers to the point where quantum computers outperform the most advanced classical supercomputers in specific tasks. This milestone not only validates the feasibility of quantum computing but also serves as a direct indicator of a nation's research strength in this field.

Currently, China and the United States are the two global frontrunners in quantum computing research, with each country alternately achieving groundbreaking advancements.

In 2019 and 2020, the United States and China, respectively, launched their quantum computing prototypes, "Sycamore" and "Jiuzhang," achieving quantum supremacy. In 2021, China successfully developed a 66-qubit programmable superconducting quantum computing system named "Zuchongzhi 2.1," making it the first country to achieve a quantum computational advantage in two mainstream technical routes.

According to the research team, "Zuchongzhi 3.0" significantly enhances key performance metrics compared to its predecessor, "Zuchongzhi 2.1," achieving a globally leading level of quantum computational power.

The study was published online in the journal Physical Review Letters. Peer reviewers praised the work, calling it "benchmarking a new superconducting quantum computer, which shows state-of-the-art 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 achieving quantum supremacy; the second step involves developing quantum simulators with hundreds of controllable qubits to tackle real-world problems beyond the capabilities of supercomputers; and the third step focuses on substantially improving qubit control precision, integration scale and error correction to develop programmable, general-purpose quantum computers.

Quantum advantage represents a critical foundation for near-term applications and scalable quantum error correction, both of which are essential for the future of practical quantum computing.

The research team of "Zuchongzhi 3.0" is actively exploring various directions, including quantum error correction, quantum entanglement, quantum simulation and quantum chemistry.

According to Zhu, the team is currently conducting surface code error correction research with a code distance of 7. After making progress, they will extend it to 9 and 11, paving the way for large-scale qubit integration and control.