Southwestern China's Sichuan province generated 68.83 billion yuan ($9.6 billion) in total output value across its communications and quantum technology industries during the first half of 2026, marking a 28.8 percent year-over-year increase, regional officials announced Thursday.
The economic expansion was detailed during a supply-demand matchmaking conference in Chengdu, where provincial regulators highlighted Sichuan's emergence as the primary quantum technology cluster in Southwest China. The province has assembled an end-to-end industrial supply chain encompassing algorithm design, optical components, hardware devices, and full-system integration for next-generation communications and quantum networks.
To support the sector's rapid growth, the newly established Sichuan Quantum Technology Academy expanded its governing board to 32 member organizations, including local research institutes and leading technology enterprises. Founded in May 2026 under the leadership of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Sichuan University, and Southwest Jiaotong University, the academy operates as China's first education and research institution specifically focused on integrating quantum mechanics with electronic engineering.
The academy's inaugural undergraduate cohort enrolled in September across three partner universities, establishing a multidisciplinary degree track combining quantum computing, quantum communications, and precision measurement. The program utilizes a dual-mentorship structure for master's and doctoral candidates, pairing university professors with industry engineers to work on active industrial projects.
According to Xiao Xu, vice president of the academy, researchers associated with the institute have published more than 10 papers in international scientific journals, including Nature. The academy has also partnered with the Jinniu District Government in Chengdu to open a dedicated Quantum Technology Industry Collaborative Innovation Center to accelerate the commercialization of post-quantum cryptography, optical sensing, and secure communications infrastructure.
