China is finalizing national standards for post-quantum cryptography within three years, accelerating development as current encryption methods face obsolescence from the rise of quantum computing. The nation’s strategy differs from those of the United States and South Korea, which both aim for full industry migration to post-quantum cryptography by 2035, having finalized their initial standards in 2024. However, China issued a call for new standards last year, indicating an openness to diverse approaches. Wang asserts that these structureless algorithms offer a security advantage, explaining that “But structureless cryptographic algorithms basically do not have this problem,” referencing potential security degradation in algorithms based on algebraic lattices. China is pursuing a distinct path in post-quantum cryptography, prioritizing “structureless lattice” algorithms such as S-Cloud+ while much of the international community focuses on algebraic lattices, a divergence stemming from concerns about potential security weaknesses.

Source: National Post March 21, 2026 02:44 UTC