Scientists from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and Stellenbosch University in South Africa demonstrated quantum key distribution (QKD) over 12,900 kilometers between Beijing and Stellenbosch, establishing the first intercontinental quantum satellite link in the Southern Hemisphere. The results, published in Nature on March 19, 2025, documented real-time secure key generation using the Jinan-1 quantum microsatellite.
Professor Juan Yin led the Chinese research team, while Dr. Yaseera Ismail served as lead experimentalist at Stellenbosch University. Professor Francesco Petruccione, Director of the National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences at Stellenbosch, had earlier pioneered quantum communication in South Africa by developing one of the world’s first fiber-optic quantum communication networks in Durban. The Stellenbosch ground station achieved a key generation rate of 1.07 million secure bits during a single satellite pass, aided by favorable atmospheric conditions.
Yin Juan, also a deputy to China’s National People’s Congress, announced at the NPC plenary in March 2025 that China intends to use its quantum satellites to establish secure communications among BRICS nations. China’s stated goal is to launch a global quantum communication service by 2027, building on earlier links established with Russia via the Mozi satellite and now extending to the Southern Hemisphere.