US Supercomputer Reclaims Throne... But Is China, Hidden by Checks, Actually Number 1?

Supercomputer 'Frontier' at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, USA

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Which country has ascended to the throne as the world's number one supercomputer? On the 30th (local time), the United States officially claimed the top spot by unveiling the world's first 'exaflops (performing 100 quintillion calculations per second)' supercomputer. Meanwhile, rumors are circulating that China, hidden under U.S. scrutiny, has developed an even faster supercomputer.

The New York Times (NYT) cited the global supercomputer ranking site TOP500, reporting that the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee demonstrated the 'Frontier' supercomputer’s performance of 1 quintillion calculations per second for the first time. This surpassed Japan Kobe’s Fugaku system, which had held the top spot for two consecutive years, allowing the U.S. to reclaim the throne.

TOP500 explained, "With the recent development of the Frontier system, the barrier of 1 exaflop per second has been surpassed, making it not only the most powerful supercomputer currently in existence worldwide but also the first true exascale machine."

NYT reported that although the U.S. Frontier officially holds the number one position, some experts suggest that China may have won the exascale race. Due to concerns that China might obstruct technology development and foreign semiconductor procurement amid the intense technological hegemony battle with the U.S., it is believed that China deliberately withheld information about its higher-performance supercomputers.

Supercomputers have become a symbol of global technological dominance and a major battleground between the U.S. and China. Initially used for code decryption and weapons design, they are now also employed in vaccine development, automotive design testing, and climate change modeling. While the U.S. has maintained leadership in this field for decades, China has rapidly grown. The full TOP500 list released on this day included numerous supercomputers from both China and the U.S., accounting for two-thirds of the total. China maintained the same number as the previous year with 173, while the U.S. saw a decrease of 24, totaling 126.

David Kahaner, chairman of the Asia Technology Information Program (ATIP), stated that last year China developed two exascale-class supercomputers using its own semiconductor technology. One was the supercomputer formerly known as OceanLight, and the other succeeded the Sunway TaihuLight, which was the first Chinese supercomputer to top the TOP500 in 2010.

Another piece of evidence that China has developed exascale-class supercomputers can be found in the Gordon Bell Prize, known as the Nobel Prize of supercomputing, awarded last November, NYT reported. At that time, a group of 14 Chinese researchers received the award, and the research process included the use of exascale supercomputers.

Steve Conway, an analyst at Hyperion Research, said, "They are quietly leaking that they are using exascale-class devices," and many speculate that China’s actions indicate it does not want more U.S. sanctions. Experts believe that the semiconductors used in China’s supercomputers were manufactured in Taiwan, NYT explained.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.