Paper dragons: is Chinese science all it’s cracked up to be?

At the tail end of last year, Chinese scientists claimed they had achieved something world-changing. In a widely circulated paper, the researchers said they had developed an algorithm run on a quantum computer that is able to break the best encryption that exists today.

Modern encryption runs on mathematical problems which take the most powerful computers tens of thousands of years to crack. It has long been theoretically possible that quantum computers could one day be capable of cracking these codes in a practical timescale. If the Chinese claim is correct, then Xi Jinping now possesses a terrifying assault weapon in cyber warfare. 

The paper, however, was greeted with derision by many in the West. ‘This is one of the most actively misleading quantum computing papers I’ve seen in 25 years,’ said Scott Aaronson of the University of Texas, ‘and I’ve seen many.’ He wasn’t alone. ‘Can’t possibly work,’ added Steve Brierley of the quantum software company Riverlane.