China, U.S. vying to be winner of race to develop quantum computing

Chinese universities and U.S. technology companies such as International Business Machines Corp. and Microsoft Corp. are racing to develop quantum computers, a type of processing that is forecast to be so powerful it can transform how drug-makers, agriculture companies and auto manufacturers discover compounds and materials. Quantum computing uses the movement of subatomic particles to process data in amounts that modern computers cannot handle. Mostly theoretical now, the technology is expected to be able to perform calculations that make today's computers look akin to an abacus. While overall spending by China is unknown, its government is building a $10 billion National Laboratory for Quantum Information Sciences in Hefei, Anhui Province, which is slated to open in 2020. U.S.-funded research in quantum is about $200 million a year, according to a July 2016 government report, and some researchers and companies don't believe that is enough.