Toward Decline
China is poised to lead in research on quantum technologies. Democracies must act
ASPI The Strategist Institutional·2026-09-11TechnologyP3: Industrial BaseP5: Strategic DecouplingP7: Alliance Architecture
Why it matters
China's reported lead across 69 of 74 critical technologies—including quantum communication, post-quantum cryptography, and quantum sensors—indicates a closing window for democratic nations to retain technological parity in defence-critical domains. For Australia, this signals eroding technological sovereignty in areas foundational to future military systems, cyber-resilience, and alliance interoperability, requiring accelerated domestic R&D investment and tighter decoupling from Chinese research collaboration.
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