October 2025 produced an unusually dense set of quantum policy actions across multiple axes. China embedded quantum technology in the recommendations for its 15th Five-Year Plan as a named driver of future economic growth. The European Commission confirmed the proposed Quantum Act for Q2 2026, while in the same week extending its quantum computing services ban to Belarus and Russia under the 19th sanctions package. Singapore’s Cyber Security Agency released its Quantum-Safe Handbook and Readiness Index for public consultation, providing the most detailed operational migration guidance yet issued by a national cyber authority. And the United States signed Technology Prosperity Deals with both Japan and South Korea, each containing dedicated quantum cooperation commitments, in a concentrated burst of bilateral tech diplomacy.
China: Quantum Named in 15th Five-Year Plan Recommendations
What happened. The Fourth Plenum of the 20th CPC Central Committee, meeting from October 20 to 23, adopted the Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (2026-2030). The recommendations explicitly named quantum technology alongside six other emerging technologies as “new drivers of economic growth.” Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun identified quantum alongside biomanufacturing and fusion energy as sectors whose combined growth would be equivalent to creating an entirely new high-tech sector over the next decade. Xi Jinping personally headed the drafting group established in January 2025.
Why it matters. China’s Five-Year Plans are the most consequential industrial planning documents in the global economy. While the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) already referenced quantum information across six mentions, the 15th Plan’s recommendations elevate quantum from a research priority to an explicit component of economic growth strategy, sitting alongside AI and biomanufacturing. The recommendations’ call for “innovative regulation, expanded venture investment, and stronger mechanisms for risk sharing” signals that Beijing intends to move beyond state-directed R&D funding toward a broader policy architecture encompassing private capital mobilization and regulatory design for quantum industries. The March 2025 announcement of a 1 trillion yuan national venture capital guidance fund covering quantum adds financial weight to this framing.
What remains unclear. The recommendations are a directive framework, not a budget document. Actual funding allocations and program details will emerge in the formal Plan text and subsequent ministerial implementation plans, likely through mid-2026. Whether “innovative regulation” signals intent to create quantum-specific regulatory frameworks, or merely a lighter touch for emerging sectors generally, is not yet defined. The relative allocation between quantum computing, communications, and sensing within the Plan’s implementation also remains unspecified.
Who should care. Strategic planners in allied governments tracking Chinese technology capabilities. Quantum companies in supply chain segments where Chinese industrial policy could reshape competitive dynamics. Export control policymakers calibrating technology access restrictions.
European Union: Quantum Act Confirmed for Q2 2026
What happened. The European Commission’s Work Programme for 2026, published on October 20, confirmed that the proposed Quantum Act is scheduled as a legislative initiative for Q2 2026, between April and June. According to the European Parliament’s Legislative Train, the proposed Act is expected to focus on coordinating research and innovation investments across Member States, improving EU industrial capacity for designing and producing quantum technologies, and ensuring the security and resilience of quantum supply chains.
Why it matters. The Quantum Act would be the first sector-specific quantum legislation proposed by a major jurisdiction. Its legal basis in Articles 173, 180, and 184 TFEU (covering industrial policy, research framework programs, and multiannual research programs) positions it as an instrument for coordinating investment and industrial capacity rather than imposing technology regulation in the traditional sense. This distinguishes it from the AI Act model and suggests Brussels sees the primary gap as fragmented national efforts rather than a need for usage rules. The Act follows the 2023 Quantum Declaration and the July 2025 Quantum Europe Strategy, building institutional momentum.
What remains unclear. Whether the Act will include binding obligations on Member States (for example, minimum investment commitments or mandatory PQC transition timelines) or function primarily as a coordination and co-funding mechanism. The interaction between the Quantum Act and existing instruments, including the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and the EuroQCI initiative, is not yet detailed. The legislative timeline is tight: an April-June 2026 proposal would still face Parliament and Council negotiations extending well into 2027 or beyond.
Who should care. EU Member State research and industry ministries. Quantum companies operating in or selling into EU markets. National quantum strategy architects whose programs may need to align with EU-level coordination requirements.
European Union: Quantum Computing Services Ban Extended to Russia and Belarus
What happened. On October 23, the Council of the European Union adopted its 19th package of sanctions against Russia, with parallel measures extending quantum computing services restrictions to Belarus. Effective November 25, 2025, EU persons are barred from providing high-performance computing services (including access to accelerated computing services with GPUs) or quantum computing services to the Russian and Belarusian governments, public bodies, corporations, and agencies. Artificial intelligence services and commercial space-based services were also added to the restricted category in the same package.
Why it matters. This is the first time quantum computing services have been explicitly prohibited under the EU sanctions regime, marking quantum as a controlled technology domain alongside AI and high-performance computing. The framing groups these three categories together as a services triad that the EU considers strategically material, a categorization that may influence how other jurisdictions conceptualize technology restrictions. The parallel application to Belarus demonstrates the EU’s approach of extending Russia-related technology controls to aligned states.
What remains unclear. The practical enforcement mechanics for quantum computing services are not detailed. Whether “quantum computing services” encompasses cloud access to quantum hardware only, or also covers consulting, algorithm development, and simulation services, will likely require clarification through Commission FAQ updates. The wind-down period for pre-existing contracts runs to January 1, 2026, leaving a narrow compliance window.
Who should care. Quantum computing companies offering cloud-based access with any EU nexus. Compliance teams at technology firms with Russian or Belarusian customer exposure. Sanctions lawyers tracking the evolving scope of technology services restrictions.
Singapore: Quantum-Safe Handbook and Readiness Index Released
What happened. Singapore’s Cyber Security Agency (CSA) released a Quantum-Safe Handbook and Quantum Readiness Index on October 22, announced by Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo at the Singapore International Cyber Week. The Handbook was jointly developed by CSA, the Government Technology Agency (GovTech), and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), in collaboration with technology companies and cybersecurity consultancies. Both documents were released for public consultation through December 31, 2025.
Why it matters. The Quantum Readiness Index is, to date, the most structured benchmarking tool offered by a national cyber authority to help organizations assess their preparedness for the quantum-safe transition. Paired with the Handbook’s operational guidance for Critical Information Infrastructure owners and government agencies, it provides a migration framework that goes beyond general advisories. Singapore’s approach of placing PQC transition guidance within the remit of the cybersecurity regulator (CSA) rather than a standards body or science ministry reflects its model of treating quantum risk as a live cybersecurity issue rather than a future research problem.
What remains unclear. Whether the Handbook will eventually carry regulatory weight for CII owners or remain advisory. The public consultation period (October to December 2025) may reveal industry pushback on the Readiness Index’s scoring methodology. How Singapore plans to reconcile its own timeline guidance with the EU’s 2024 recommendation calling for broad PQC adoption by 2035 is not specified.
Who should care. CISOs and CII operators across ASEAN, where Singapore’s guidance often sets regional expectations. PQC vendors looking at the Southeast Asian market. National cyber agencies considering similar readiness assessment frameworks.
United States: Technology Prosperity Deals Signed with Japan and South Korea
What happened. In the final week of October, the United States signed Technology Prosperity Deals with both Japan (October 28, in Tokyo) and South Korea (October 29, in Gyeongju, on the sidelines of APEC). Both deals contain dedicated quantum sections. The Japan deal commits to collaboration through leading quantum institutions and national laboratories on algorithm development, quantum performance assessment, and supply chain security. The Korea deal commits both sides to advance trusted and interoperable standards for quantum technologies, deepen institutional partnerships, and secure the quantum supply chain. Both agreements build on the U.S.-U.K. Technology Prosperity Deal signed in September 2025.
Why it matters. The back-to-back signing of quantum-inclusive technology deals with Japan and South Korea during a single presidential trip to Asia represents the most concentrated burst of U.S. bilateral quantum diplomacy to date. Combined with the U.K. deal from September, three of the four agreements in the Technology Prosperity Deal series now include quantum. The agreements are not legally binding, but they create institutional scaffolding for interagency coordination and signal which partners Washington considers part of its trusted quantum ecosystem. The Japan deal’s emphasis on national laboratories and algorithm development points toward practical research integration, while the Korea deal’s focus on standards and supply chains reflects a more commercial framing.
What remains unclear. These are memoranda of cooperation, not binding treaties. Whether they translate into funded programs or remain aspirational depends on follow-through by agencies on both sides. The relationship between these bilateral deals and existing multilateral quantum cooperation (through the G7, NATO, and the Quad) is undefined. No funding commitments are specified in either document.
Who should care. Quantum companies and research institutions in the U.S., Japan, and South Korea positioned for cross-border collaboration. Standards bodies in all three countries. Defense and intelligence community planners tracking trusted technology partnerships in the Indo-Pacific.
Also in October 2025
Denmark-based 55 North announced the first close of its €300 million Fund I at €134 million, with backing from the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark and Novo Holdings, positioning itself as the world’s largest dedicated quantum venture capital fund. The fund fulfills a specific mandate from the Danish national quantum strategy.
At the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, leaders endorsed the APASTI 2026-2035 plan, which positions quantum science as a strategic emerging field for the bloc’s long-term development. This is the first time quantum technology has been referenced in a high-level ASEAN strategic planning document.
The Basque Government and IBM inaugurated Europe’s first operational IBM Quantum System Two in Donostia-San Sebastián, powered by a 156-qubit Heron processor. The system is the third such deployment worldwide and represents a cumulative investment of €50.8 million under the BasQ strategy.
Norway’s government allocated 50 new university study places in quantum technology at NTNU, with a total of 100 planned, alongside a proposed NOK 150 million annual allocation for five years to promote quantum technology in industry, adding to the NOK 1.1 billion five-year package announced in August 2025.
Deeper analysis of each item in this briefing, with jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction comparison tables and sector impact assessments, is available through the Quantum Policy Radar.