Chief researcher of the project, Pan Jianwei, says China plans to launch more quantum satellites, with the aim of establishing a global, high-security communications network by 2030.

"In the future, we hope we can form a constellation of such satellites. Then we need a network of fibres on the ground, which can pass on signals from satellites to billions of people. So finally we will have a massive quantum communication network," Chief scientist of Quantum Satellite Pan Jianwei said.