HEFEI -- The University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) said it had been authorized to award doctorates in quantum science and technology, the country's first doctoral program in this field.

The move is expected to promote the development of quantum science and technology disciplines and increase the quality and quantity of innovators in this frontier sector, said the USTC in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province.

Quantum science and technology have developed by leaps and bounds in recent years and have become the new frontier of science and technology and industrial transformation.

The USTC has carried out studies on quantum information science since the early 1990s and has established relevant research centers, offering supports for the cultivation of talents.

In recent years, China has achieved a series of breakthroughs in quantum technology, including the world's first quantum satellite, a 2,000-km quantum communication line between Beijing and Shanghai, and the world's first optical quantum computing machine prototype.

Hefei, a hub for China's quantum technology, is home to over 20 quantum technology enterprises and achieved an output value of some 430 million yuan (about $67.3 million) in 2020.