Recently Nihon Keizai Shimbun Electronic Edition reported the following:
量子時代、米優位に陰り 通信・暗号で中国先行 (1 of 2)
チャートは語る
2021年3月14日 2:00 [有料会員限定]
米国の政権が代わり、先端技術を巡る米中の覇権争いが新たな局面に入った。焦点の一つが中長期の産業競争力や安全保障を左右する量子技術だ。米国は幅広いテクノロジーで世界の先頭を走ってきたが、量子技術では優位とはいえない。バイデン政権にとっては日本との協調も重要になる。
「科学的・技術的な優位を維持するために再投資し、もう一度リードしなければならない」。バイデン政権が3日に示した安保戦略の暫定指針。量子コンピューターや人工知能（AI）が経済や軍事、雇用、格差問題に広く影響を与えると指摘し、米国が主導権を握る姿勢を強調した。
中国も譲らない。5日に2021年からの5カ年計画で官民全体の研究開発費を年平均7%以上増やすと表明。AIや半導体と並び量子技術を重点対象の一つにあげた。
次世代計算機の量子コンピューターは材料や薬の開発、AIの利用に革新をもたらすだけでなく、インターネットなどに用いる暗号を無力化する「破壊力」を秘める。1つの国が開発に成功すれば他国は通信の安全を脅かされる。その時に盾となるのが究極の秘匿性を誇る量子通信・暗号だ。米中とも手は抜けない。
開発の現状はどうか。情報解析のVALUENEX（バリューネックス）が量子技術関連の公開特許を分析して集計すると、量子コンピューターのハードウエアは140件のIBMを筆頭にマイクロソフト（81件）、グーグル（65件）など米国勢が上位に並んだ。計算に必要なソフトウエアも米国が先行する。
量子通信・暗号は様相が異なる。光子（光の粒）をやりとりする装置などハードに関わる特許は華為技術（ファーウェイ、100件）が2位、北京郵電大学（84件）が4位と中国勢が目立つ。ソフトも中国が強い。北京―上海間に通信網が築かれ機器開発や運用のノウハウを蓄える。
人工衛星の打ち上げで旧ソ連に後れを取った1957年の「スプートニク・ショック」以来、米国は安保に絡む技術で常に優位を保ってきた。だが量子の時代にその構図は当てはまらない。国別の特許数で中国は3000件を超え、米国に2倍の差をつける。
(to be continued)
Translation
The US administration was changed, and the US-China hegemony battle over advanced technology had entered a new phase. One of the focal points was quantum technology, which could influence medium- to long-term industrial competitiveness and security. The United States had been at the forefront of the world in a wide range of technologies, but it was not superior in quantum technology. Its cooperation with Japan was also important for the Biden administration.
"We have to reinvest to maintain our scientific and technological advantage to lead again." This was the provisional guideline for the security strategy presented by the Biden administration on the 3rd. He pointed out that quantum computers and artificial intelligence (AI) could have a wide impact on economic, military, employment and inequality issues; and emphasized the US's stance of taking the initiative.
China would not give up either. On the 5th, it announced that it would increase R & D expenses for the entire public and private sectors by an average of 7% or more annually in a five-year plan from 2021. Along with AI and semiconductors, quantum technology was one of the priority targets.
Quantum computers, which would be the next-generation computers, not only bring innovation to the development of materials and medicines and the use of AI, but also had the "destructive power" to neutralize the cryptography used for the Internet. If one country could succeed in its development, other countries could be threatened with the security in communications. At that time, the shield would be quantum communication / encryption, which boasted the ultimate confidentiality. Both the United States and China could not permit this to slip out of their hands.
What was the current state of development? When VALUENEX, an information analyst, analyzed and aggregated published patents related to quantum technology, the hardware of quantum computers with IBM came first holding 140 patents, Microsoft (81), Google (65) and other American groups were lining up at the top. The United States also preceded in the software needed for computations.
Quantum communication and cryptography had a different picture. In hardware such as devices that exchange photons (particle of light), Huawei Technology (Huawei, 100 patents) ranked second, and Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (84 patents) ranked fourth in hardware-related patents. China was also strong in software. A communication network would be built between Beijing and Shanghai to accumulate know-how in equipment development and operation.
The United States, since the "Sputnik Crisis" in 1957 that showed a lagging behind the former Soviet Union in the launch of artificial satellites, had always maintained its superiority in security-related technology. But that hierarchy did not apply in the quantum era. In terms of the number of patents by country, China had more than 3,000 patents, which was twice as more as the United States.
(To be continued)
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