China achieves a quantum jump

Composite photo taken on Dec 14, 2016 shows a quantum communication ground station in Northwest China's Qinghai province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Quantum communication will have significant applications in finance and military, where security is paramount, though it is still too early to say whether it will replace conventional methods, he added.

The accurate transfer of photons between the sender and receiver is not easy, since the optical axis of the satellite must point precisely toward those of the telescopes on the ground. This means there is only about five minutes to experiment each night.