The hypersonic drone MD-19 / Courtesy of Chinese Academy of Sciences
The hypersonic drone MD-19 / Courtesy of Chinese Academy of Sciences
China's advancements in disruptive technologies are rapidly blurring the lines between science fiction and reality, from humanoid robots and a computer in the brain to encryption-shattering quantum computers and hypersonic aircraft.
Disruptive technology — or innovations that significantly alter established industries and markets — has become a key focus for Beijing as it pushes for dominance in emerging markets ahead of Western powers like the United States.
At the start of last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the strengthening of "original and disruptive" scientific and technological innovation and accelerating efforts to achieve sci-tech self-reliance.
The world watched China make major strides in such innovation last year, some of which was outlined last week in the National Development and Reform Commission's (NDRC) report on economic and social development presented during the annual "the two sessions."
The report released on Wednesday highlighted China's continued rise in scientific and technological innovation, including in artificial intelligence and 5G technology.
The NDRC also presented its draft plan for national economic and social development for 2025, which indicated that innovation was still a key focus for Beijing, including cultivating "future industries" such as quantum technology and future energy sources.
The report acknowledged the "once-in-a-century changes" unfolding across the world, stating that an increasingly complex external environment could influence scientific innovation.
Here, the Post looks at major disruptive technology innovations in China, and how they could shape the tech race and change the world.
This undated image shows Google's new quantum computing chip 'Willow.' / Coutesy of Google
This undated image shows Google's new quantum computing chip "Willow." / Coutesy of Google
Quantum computing
China opened up its first home-grown third-generation superconducting quantum computer Origin Wukong for global use last year, allowing visitors from around the world to access the superfast computer. This includes users in the United States, whose own quantum computers are not open to China.
Quantum computers, which use quantum bits instead of traditional computer bits to process information, leverage quantum phenomena to perform certain tasks exponentially faster than even the best supercomputers.
China and the U.S. are pouring resources into quantum computing and other quantum technology.
The NDRC report highlighted China's advancements in quantum computing, including the Origin Wukong as well as the Zuchongzhi 3.0 processor, which they said had achieved "a new high in a quantum computing test."
The 105-qubit quantum processor was first unveiled in December, just a week after Google announced its own Willow processor with the same number of qubits. According to state media, the processor developed by Chinese researchers puts the country on par with the U.S. in this technology.
The logo of Deepseek is seen during the Global Developer Conference, organized by the Shanghai AI Industry Association, in Shanghai, China, Feb. 21. AFP-Yonhap
The logo of Deepseek is seen during the Global Developer Conference, organized by the Shanghai AI Industry Association, in Shanghai, China, Feb. 21. AFP-Yonhap
Artificial intelligence
Last year, "fresh breakthroughs" were made in the development of large-scale AI models in China, and the country saw an accelerated integration of AI into industries with "globally competitive AI products and services emerging daily," according to the NDRC report.
Chinese AI company DeepSeek took the world by storm at the start of this year with a low-cost open-source AI model that rivalled those created by its Western counterparts, OpenAI and Meta, while using far fewer computing resources.
The Hangzhou-based start-up was already causing waves within China last year, and now Chinese AI developers are rushing to innovate and narrow the gap with DeepSeek.
DeepSeek has quickly spread across sectors in China, including being employed in medicine and education, and the fact that it is open source — or freely available to use, modify and share — means it is making its mark globally.
Humanoid robots
China's humanoid robots generated worldwide attention after a dance performance at the annual televised Spring Festival gala on Lunar New Year's Eve — with the robots developed by the Hangzhou-based Unitree showing impressive synchronisation and agility.
Humanoid robots — which resemble the human body in shape and see and move in humanlike ways — have a wide range of potential uses, including in factories, medicine, military and emergency services, and within homes as domestic helpers.
A report by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last year stated that China aimed to turn this sector into "an important new engine of economic growth" by 2027.
The NDRC report indicated that humanoid robots for "new forms of business" were emerging at a rapid pace in China.
There is also a race to develop humanoid robots for military use, such as battlefield support and reconnaissance. The U.S. has taken an early lead in this application with a firefighting robot for its navy.
Nuclear fusion
China's goal to create an "artificial sun" — or to achieve nuclear fusion on Earth to generate a low-cost and unlimited source of energy — has seen some promising progress in recent years.
Unlike nuclear fission, which is used in nuclear reactors where a heavy element such as uranium is split to release energy, nuclear fusion involves the fusion of two light elements — such as heavy isotopes of hydrogen — to generate energy.
Nuclear fusion uses the same reaction that powers the sun and other stars and is seen as a promising solution to energy challenges as it uses abundant raw materials and produces no greenhouse gas emissions.
In January, the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak facility at the Institute of Plasma Physics in Hefei set a world record by sustaining a plasma temperature exceeding 100 million degrees Celsius for 1,066 seconds, or nearly 18 minutes.
The experimental device is not only a critical step in China's domestic goals to create viable nuclear fusion but also provides insight for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), of which China is a member state.
In February, the China National Nuclear Corporation, a state-owned atomic agency that is part of the ITER project, said during a media briefing that China could commercialise nuclear fusion for power generation by 2050.
Hypersonic flight
China is significantly advancing its development of hypersonic technology, including hypersonic drones, gliders and aircraft.
They are designed to fly at hypersonic speed, or more than five times the speed of sound, and could be applied in both civilian and military settings.
China has a marked lead over the U.S. in hypersonic weapons, as the U.S. is still not ready to deploy a hypersonic weapon for combat use.
China has achieved several hypersonic innovations in recent years, including the development of hypersonic glide vehicles — or warheads that can manoeuvre and glide at hypersonic speed to help control missile trajectory after launch.
China has also tested a hypersonic aircraft with a bulky body that could cover the distance from Beijing to New York in just two hours — a feat thought impossible a few years ago.
gettyimagesbank
gettyimagesbank
Brain-computer inerface
Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) are a direct communication link between the brain's electrical signals and an external device, such as an electronic limb or a computer.
They can offer patients with disabilities like spinal cord injuries greater mobility and could also allow for the fusion of the brain and computer intelligence — expanding the brain's processing ability.
The Neural Electronic Opportunity (NEO) interface developed by Tsinghua University and Neuracle Technology was successfully implanted into the first patient last year, and the team is now planning to have a major clinical trial.
The NEO is the first BCI product in China to enter the "green channel" for innovative medical device approvals and is expected to be available for clinical use in 2027.
Elon Musk's nanotechnology company Neuralink is the major competitor in this area. It focuses on more invasive implants, which have been the subject of controversy.
In February, researchers from Tsinghua and Tianjin universities announced they had developed the world's first two-way adaptive BCI. Unlike traditional BCIs that just decode the brain's signals, this could allow the brain and device to learn from each other.
Harnessing space
China's ambitious plan to develop a space-based solar power project — measuring 1 kilometer wide at an orbit 36,000 kilometer (22,370 miles) above the Earth — has been referred to as the "Manhattan Project" of energy.
As outlined by a senior Chinese rocket scientist, the project, also known as the "Three Gorges Dam" of space, would be able to collect solar energy and send it to the ground to provide continuous energy without being affected by day-night cycles and seasons.
The project would require massive advances in superheavy rockets to transport the necessary materials into space.
Biotechnology and biomedicine
The U.S. continues to hold its top spot in this field — although Chinese innovation is trying to close the gap. The design of innovative drugs and medical treatments is one area in which China has made major strides.
"We accelerated the development of the biomedicine industry and supported the rapid whole-chain development of innovative drugs," with China in second place last year in the number of new drugs under development, the NDRC report said.
A team from the Xiangya Hospital of Central South University has developed a treatment for Alzheimer's disease — the leading cause of dementia — using lymph node surgery, which they reported to be effective for 60 to 80 per cent of patients during a clinical trial.
Last year, a patient became the first to be cured of type 2 diabetes using cell therapy, and another patient was the first to be cured of beta thalassaemia — one of the most common inherited blood disorders — using genetic base editing technology.
Read the full story at SCMP.