China is likely to establish national standards for post-quantum cryptography within the next three years, according to a leading expert in the field, as the country increases investment in quantum-related research.
Post-quantum cryptography is designed to protect digital systems against future quantum computers, which are expected to be powerful enough to break many of today’s widely used encryption methods. As a result, countries are accelerating efforts to develop new security frameworks before such computing power becomes commercially viable.
China recently elevated quantum technology to the level of a core strategic industry in its latest five-year plan, placing it alongside emerging fields such as embodied artificial intelligence, nuclear fusion and brain-computer interfaces. The country is also working toward the development of scalable quantum computing systems.
Experts say sectors such as finance and energy will likely be prioritized for migration because of the sensitivity of the information they handle. Chinese researchers are also pursuing different technical approaches from many Western counterparts, focusing on cryptographic methods they argue may offer stronger long-term resilience.
The expected move shows that post-quantum security is becoming a central part of national technology planning, with China seeking to secure its future digital infrastructure before quantum disruption reaches practical scale.
