CAS Quantum Network — vendor dossier

CAS Quantum Network

NetworkingQKD
C

State-affiliated builder and operator of China's National Wide-Area Quantum Secure Communication Backbone Network. Jointly founded in November 2016 by CAS Holdings (the commercial arm of the Chinese Academy of Sciences) and the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), it functions as a network operator and systems integrator rather than a QKD-device vendor: it sources decoy-state BB84 hardware from QuantumCTek and Jiuzhou and runs the trusted-node fibre backbone, metro networks, and Micius (墨子号) satellite-to-ground links. Sits inside the Pan Jianwei (潘建伟) USTC ecosystem but is a distinct legal entity from QuantumCTek.

HQ
Shanghai, China
Founded
2016
Status
private
Last verified
Sun May 17 2026 08:00:00 GMT+0800 (Singapore Standard Time)

Timeline

20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026202720282029today
2016-11
国科量子通信网络有限公司 founded in Shanghai (29 Nov 2016) by CAS Holdings + USTC; registered capital ~RMB 103.18M; designated NDRC-supported construction/operations entity for the national QKD backbone
2017-09
京沪干线 Beijing–Shanghai 2,032 km QKD trunk passes total technical acceptance (32 trusted nodes, decoy-state BB84 with QuantumCTek devices)
2021-01
Chen Y.-A. et al., Nature 589, 214 — integrated 4,600 km space-to-ground quantum network: Beijing–Shanghai trunk fused with Micius satellite ground links
2022-12
National Wide-Area Quantum Secure Communication Backbone Network passes formal state acceptance after September 2022 completion of the >10,000 km build-out
2025-08
Chen H.Z. et al., npj Quantum Information 11, 137 — first peer-reviewed end-to-end description of CN-QCN as a carrier-grade network (145 backbone nodes, 20 metros, 17 provinces, 80 cities, >10,000 km)
2026
Continued expansion of metro networks under the National Wide-Area QKD Backbone — coverage targeted to extend beyond the present 17 provinces / 80 cities footprint
2026
Integration with second-generation Chinese QKD satellites (Jinan-1 class + planned 2025+ launches) for routine satellite-augmented trusted-node operation
shipped milestone public roadmap

Current flagship

National Wide-Area Quantum Secure Communication Backbone Network (CN-QCN) — >10,000 km trusted-node decoy-state BB84 backbone — 145 backbone nodes, 20 metro networks, 17 provinces, 80 cities (per Chen et al. npj QI 2025); operator/integrator role with QuantumCTek and Jiuzhou supplying QKD devices

Milestones

  1. 2025-08
    Chen H.Z. et al., npj Quantum Information 11, 137 — first peer-reviewed end-to-end description of CN-QCN as a carrier-grade network (145 backbone nodes, 20 metros, 17 provinces, 80 cities, >10,000 km)
    Networking paper source ↗
  2. 2022-12
    National Wide-Area Quantum Secure Communication Backbone Network passes formal state acceptance after September 2022 completion of the >10,000 km build-out
    Networking press source ↗
  3. 2021-01
    Chen Y.-A. et al., Nature 589, 214 — integrated 4,600 km space-to-ground quantum network: Beijing–Shanghai trunk fused with Micius satellite ground links
    QKD paper source ↗
  4. 2017-09
    京沪干线 Beijing–Shanghai 2,032 km QKD trunk passes total technical acceptance (32 trusted nodes, decoy-state BB84 with QuantumCTek devices)
    QKD press source ↗
  5. 2016-11
    国科量子通信网络有限公司 founded in Shanghai (29 Nov 2016) by CAS Holdings + USTC; registered capital ~RMB 103.18M; designated NDRC-supported construction/operations entity for the national QKD backbone
    Networking press source ↗

Roadmap

  • 2026 Continued expansion of metro networks under the National Wide-Area QKD Backbone — coverage targeted to extend beyond the present 17 provinces / 80 cities footprint source ↗
  • 2026 Integration with second-generation Chinese QKD satellites (Jinan-1 class + planned 2025+ launches) for routine satellite-augmented trusted-node operation source ↗

Capability details

QKD

Protocols
BB84, decoy-state
Rate vs distance
Trusted-node fibre backbone — operator role, not a device vendor; equipment supplied by QuantumCTek and Jiuzhou. Backbone link rates per Chen et al. 2021 averaged tens of kb/s per inter-node hop over the 2,032 km Beijing–Shanghai trunk with 32 trusted nodes.

Networking

Role
operator
Products
National Wide-Area Quantum Secure Communication Backbone Network (国家广域量子保密通信骨干网络) — construction and operations entity, Beijing–Shanghai trunk line (京沪干线) — owner/operator, Provincial subsidiaries: Guangdong, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Beijing operating-company SPVs for regional metro-network build-out, Integration of Micius (墨子号) satellite ground links with terrestrial fibre backbone
8 unverified fields
  • logo.domain
  • founded
  • modalities.qkd.rate_distance
  • shareholders.0.stake_percent — Exact CAS Holdings ownership percentage of Guoke Quantum is not disclosed in publicly indexed primary sources; CAS Holdings is named as the lead co-founder, USTC as the other co-founder, but the cap-table split is opaque.
  • shareholders.1.stake_percent — USTC's exact ownership percentage is not disclosed in publicly indexed primary sources.
  • key_personnel.0.since — Year Qi Wei (戚巍) assumed the President / legal-representative role is not stated on the public CAS company page or the speaker bio. He is the current legal representative of record per qixin / tianyancha filings but the start date was not located in a primary source.
  • key_personnel.1.since — Pan Jianwei is not a formal officer of CAS Quantum Network; the entry records his scientific-lead relationship to the underlying USTC programme rather than a corporate appointment date.
  • roadmap.1.item — Operator-level integration plans for next-generation Chinese QKD satellites are not published by Guoke Quantum directly; inferred from CAS / press coverage of the satellite programme.

People

  • Qi Wei (戚巍) — President (总裁) and Legal Representative (法定代表人) ↗
  • Pan Jianwei (潘建伟) — Affiliated Principal Investigator (USTC), scientific lead of the national QKD programme ↗

References