China’s quantum* crypto tech may be unhackable, but it's hardly a secret

This opinion article critiques China’s national push for quantum key distribution (QKD), arguing that physics and engineering constraints (e.g., dramatically low long-distance key rates like 34 bps over 1,000 km, fiber losses, and bandwidth doubling) make QKD impractical for large-scale infrastructure. It contrasts QKD with classical public-key and modern quantum-safe cryptography, which provide end-to-end security without QKD’s overhead, and concludes that QKD serves more as political theater and a funding magnet than a necessary or scalable cybersecurity solution.