Shares of key Chinese quantum computing companies have surged about 20% over two trading days after Washington announced a US$2 billion funding package for nine US firms, as investors bet that Beijing would respond with its own push to keep pace in the global race for quantum supremacy. Quantum CTEK surged 19% to 641.08 yuan (US$88.70) in just two trading days on May 22 and 25. GuoChuang Software gained nearly 18% to 40.24 yuan, while Koal Software rose 9.5% to 20.97 yuan. The rally mirrored a sharp move in US quantum stocks as Infleqtion soared more than 30%, Rigetti Computing jumped over 63%, D-Wave surged roughly 53% and IBM gained around 13% in the two trading days after Washington announced the funding package. China’s quantum sector had already been building momentum this month. Origin Quantum launched Origin Wukong-180, its fourth-generation superconducting quantum computer. The Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Cold Atom Technology (CASCA) unveiled what it described as the world’s first dual-core quantum computer. The University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) released Jiuzhang 4.0, a photonic quantum computer. Analysts said the flurry of breakthroughs, combined with the US funding push, was likely to accelerate Beijing’s timetable for state-backed investment in the sector. On May 21, the US Department of Commerce announced the letters of intent to frame the initiative as a matter of national security as much as economic competitiveness. The funds, totaling US$2.013 billion, were distributed under the CHIPS and Science Act to support both domestic quantum foundries and computing companies, with the government taking a minority equity stake in each recipient. The two foundry recipients are GlobalFoundries, which will receive US$375 million to establish a domestic quantum foundry spanning multiple hardware approaches, and IBM, which will receive US$1 billion to build a new subsidiary for quantum-grade superconducting