China claims to have the capability to deliver a homemade, fully-functional quantum computer, making it the third country to do so after the United States and Canada. Despite quantum computing experts calling the announcement “formidable,” a GlobalData analyst argues China's latest quantum computer won’t have a significant impact on the global market.

Origin Quantum Computing Technology, headquartered in China’s Anhui province, has delivered a 24-qubit quantum computer based on superconducting chip technology – dubbed Wuyuan – to an unknown user. The company also built an ecological chain for the computer including software, an operating system, and a cloud platform, according to a report from the South China Morning Post.

“This announcement is formidable because China is stating that they have a fully functional quantum computer – although the qubit count is low,” QuSecure co-Founder and COO Skip Sanzeri wrote in response to questions, adding this shows China is making progress toward larger quantum computers.

Sanzeri noted China is estimated to have invested more than $15 billion in its quantum computing programs. “That is debatable, but it’s safe to say that China is either at our level of quantum computing advancement or catching up quickly.”

A recent GlobalData report noted the U.S. is about five years ahead of China. But “it is only a matter of time before China and the U.S. reach technical parity in quantum computing,” GlobalData associate analyst Benjamin Chin wrote in the report.

Mike Orme, consultant analyst of thematic intelligence at GlobalData, also pointed out that “the Hefei Lab is the world leader in achieving quantum supremacy – a measure of technological prowess – and also in quantum communications.”

The quantum computing research center was founded by Origin Quantum and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Quantum Information at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Anhui.

However, Orme argues there is very little commercial quantum computing activity despite the first delivery. “China, being the third country, is true in terms of Baidu and Alibaba providing quantum cloud, i.e. how people can get access to quantum to ready themselves for when quantum computing becomes real,” Orme told SDxCentral.

Coming on the heels of the official confirmation for the Wuyuan delivery, Origin Quantum also debuted China’s first quantum computing chip production line earlier this month. This is where the quantum chips for the company’s latest Wukong quantum computer was developed, according to China’s state media.

The “soon available” Wukong quantum computer is expected to feature at least a 64-qubit processor, compared to IBM’s latest "Osprey" processor with 433 qubits.

Sanzeri noted several other large tech companies based in the U.S., including Google and Amazon, are also investing heavily in quantum computing development, along with many early and mid-stage companies such as Atom Computing, PsiQuantum, IonQ, and Rigetti Computing.

“It’s clear that the race is on to a functional, error corrected, and noise suppressed quantum computer, meaning a computer we can rely on like we do with the standard computers that we use today,” he wrote.

Orme stated “it is much too early to say” what Wukong's success means for China's position in the race for quantum computing dominance, while “there is little evidence on which to choose who is ahead.”

But he does not expect the Wukong quantum computer to have any significant impact on the global market as “it will not be selling in the U.S., for example.” And “we really know nothing about Wukong’s potential at this stage,” he added.

Looking at the global quantum computing market in general, Orme said “a lot of disappointment has set in in the last year as to the lack of progress in quantum computing, which has set back expectations of appreciable market growth. There is talk of a so-called ‘quantum winter’ setting in.”