China Defies US Restrictions and Builds the World’s Fastest Supercomputer
China Defies US Restrictions and Builds the World’s Fastest Supercomputer
中国无视美国限制，建成全球最快超级计算机
China now has the world’s fastest supercomputer, overtaking the United States. The system, known as LineShine and installed at the National Supercomputing Center in Shenzhen, displaced the US system El Capitan from the top spot in the TOP500 ranking in terms of computing power.
中国现已拥有全球最快的超级计算机，超越了美国。该系统名为“凌闪”（LineShine），安装在深圳国家超级计算中心，在计算能力方面取代了美国系统“酋长岩”（El Capitan），登顶 TOP500 榜单。
The breakthrough comes amid an intense competition between Beijing and Washington for technological supremacy, marked by high tariffs and restrictions on a wide range of hardware components and software.
这一突破正值北京与华盛顿之间争夺技术霸权的激烈竞争之际，双方在各类硬件组件和软件方面均实施了高额关税和限制措施。
Since 1993, the TOP500 ranking has identified the world’s most powerful supercomputers every six months through a series of standardized benchmarks that evaluate each system’s performance, taking into account both its theoretical speed and its real-world performance, as well as its energy efficiency.
自 1993 年以来，TOP500 榜单每半年通过一系列标准化基准测试来评定全球最强大的超级计算机，评估内容涵盖系统的理论速度、实际性能以及能效表现。
Historically, the ranking has been dominated by US-developed systems. However, LineShine has returned China to the top after nearly a decade out of first place.
从历史上看，该榜单一直由美国开发的系统所主导。然而，“凌闪”的出现让中国在阔别榜首近十年后重回巅峰。
El Capitan, located in Livermore, California, had held the top position since 2024. Now, benchmark results have confirmed that LineShine exceeds the US system’s processing capacity by more than 20 percent.
位于加利福尼亚州利弗莫尔的“酋长岩”自 2024 年起一直占据榜首。如今，基准测试结果证实，“凌闪”的处理能力已超过该美国系统 20% 以上。
With a power consumption of approximately 42.2 megawatts, the Chinese supercomputer delivers 2,198 exaflops, meaning it can perform more than 2 quintillion operations per second.
这台中国超级计算机的功耗约为 42.2 兆瓦，算力达到 2,198 亿亿次浮点运算（exaflops），这意味着它每秒可以执行超过 200 亿亿次运算。
One of LineShine’s most striking features is that, unlike most next-generation supercomputers, it does not use graphics processing units (GPUs). Instead, it relies exclusively on central processing units (CPUs), components widely used in smartphones, desktop computers, and laptops but rarely found in large-scale scientific computing systems.
“凌闪”最引人注目的特点之一是，与大多数下一代超级计算机不同，它不使用图形处理器（GPU）。相反，它完全依赖中央处理器（CPU）——这种组件广泛应用于智能手机、台式机和笔记本电脑，但在大规模科学计算系统中却很少见。
Another notable feature is that its entire infrastructure is built with hardware and software developed in China. LineShine’s architecture is based on the LingKun platform and consists of roughly 45,000 LX2 processors. Each processor has 304 cores and operates at a clock speed of 1.55 GHz.
另一个显著特点是，其整个基础设施均采用中国自主研发的软硬件构建。“凌闪”的架构基于“凌坤”（LingKun）平台，由大约 45,000 个 LX2 处理器组成。每个处理器拥有 304 个核心，运行主频为 1.55 GHz。
The nodes are connected through a high-speed network called LingQi, designed to minimize latency and accelerate data exchange. The entire system runs on Kylin OS, a Linux-based operating system widely used in China’s scientific and government computing infrastructure.
各节点通过名为“凌启”（LingQi）的高速网络连接，旨在最大限度地减少延迟并加速数据交换。整个系统运行在麒麟操作系统（Kylin OS）上，这是一款在中国科学和政府计算基础设施中广泛使用的 Linux 系统。
A Clear Message From China to the US
中国向美国发出的明确信号
China’s return to the top of the TOP500 ranking has been interpreted as an achievement that goes beyond simply possessing the world’s fastest supercomputer, as the country is eager to show the world its tech industry can thrive despite lacking access to key US technologies.
中国重回 TOP500 榜首被解读为一项超越了单纯拥有全球最快超级计算机意义的成就，因为中国渴望向世界展示，即便在无法获得美国关键技术的情况下，其科技产业依然能够蓬勃发展。
During Donald Trump’s first administration and throughout Joe Biden’s presidency, the United States imposed strict export controls on components, software, and platforms related to advanced computing in an effort to slow China’s technological progress. In response, Beijing adopted similar measures.
在唐纳德·特朗普的第一任期内以及乔·拜登的整个总统任期内，美国对与先进计算相关的组件、软件和平台实施了严格的出口管制，试图减缓中国的技术进步。作为回应，北京也采取了类似的措施。
Those restrictions have intensified during Trump’s current administration, particularly through tariffs and limits on imports of GPUs, advanced chips, and other components related to artificial intelligence (AI), a technology that now underpins a significant share of the world’s most powerful supercomputers.
在特朗普当前的任期内，这些限制措施进一步加强，特别是通过关税以及对 GPU、先进芯片和其他与人工智能（AI）相关组件的进口限制——人工智能技术目前已成为全球大多数最强大超级计算机的基石。
These restrictions have forced China to invest in developing new architectures and technologies capable of building supercomputers that can compete with the highest-performing US systems despite lacking access to certain state-of-the-art resources.
这些限制迫使中国投入研发新的架构和技术，使其能够在缺乏某些尖端资源的情况下，构建出足以与美国最高性能系统相抗衡的超级计算机。