Beijing-Shanghai quantum link a 'new era'

Staff attend the opening ceremony of the Jing-Hu, or Beijing-Shanghai, Trunk Line, at University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, East China's Anhui Province, Sept 29, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

"I would like to congratulate my Chinese friends in their achievements, and I hope other countries can follow and together build a global quantum internet," he added.

With these new developments, China can also vastly extend the distance of ultrasecured quantum communication, paving the way for further practical applications, said Pan.

During the event, two employees from the Bank of Communications completed a transaction from Shanghai to Beijing using the quantum link. The State Grid is also developing a managing application using a quantum link.

In the future, Chinese scientists will improve the stability of the quantum channel, improve quantum satellites' communication efficiency and stability during the daytime, and launch high orbit quantum communication satellites, said Pan.

"China will also cooperate with Germany, Russia, Italy, Singapore and other countries to explore the practicality of a global quantum communication network," he added. But for residential use, "it will still take around 10 to 15 years, after the cost has been reduced".