China to launch quantum experiment satellite in 2016

BEIJING -- China has initiated to launch a satellite for quantum information and technology experiments in 2016, a leading quantum physicist said here Thursday.

Prof. Pan Jianwei said, "We hope to establish a quantum communication network from Beijing to Vienna."

"Such a plan is impossible without international collaborations," Pan said at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top political advisory body.

The field of quantum communication, the science of transmitting quantum states from one place to another, has caught global attention in recent years owing to the discovery of quantum cryptography, which is described as a way of creating "unbreakable" messages.

A member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. Pan of the University of Science and Technology of China led a frontier research team to conduct a 30-40 km quantum communication test on the Great Wall in 2005.