China's Quantum Flywheel Six months of Party mobilization Elias X. Huber, author of the China ∩ Quantum blog, is a researcher at Fraunhofer Singapore and Singapore’s Centre for Quantum Technologies, where he works on security assurance for quantum cryptography. He previously was a Yenching Scholar at Peking University and holds an MSc from ETH Zürich. Today, he presents an incredible deep dive on the state of Chinese quantum, specifically how the Party’s future industry machinery is mobilizing quantum commercialization in the first half of 2026. We hope you enjoy it. The Chinese quantum sector evolved rapidly over the first six months of this year. The many Western think tank reports written on China’s quantum ecosystem in 2025 already feel extremely dated. The structure of Zhongnanhai’s mandates for China’s quantum sector have been clarified by the 15th Five-Year Plan in March 2026 — where quantum technologies are listed first among the future industries — as well as Xi Jinping’s Future Industry speech delivered to the Politburo in a 2026 study session, the associated essay in Qiushi 求是 (the Party’s official theoretical journal, literally, “Seeking Truth”) and countless articles and study sessions in response (such as by MOST and MIIT ministers, local cadres and quantum start-ups). Emerging initiatives are implementing abstract, high-level instructions from the party, translating loaded policy jargon into concrete actions that we’ll analyze today. It truly feels like a new industry is being willed into existence. Like a flywheel slowly picking up speed. Today’s deep dive will catch you up on how much changed in just half a year, covering… - The scale of raw commercial expansion, with skyrocketing investments through over 40 H1 investment rounds analyzed for this article, a (neutral atom) quantum computing boom approaching 30 quantum computing hardware companies, and a multitude of new quantum funds.