A joint research team between China and Africa has recently successfully achieved intercontinental quantum communication over a distance of more than 12900 kilometers, connecting China in eastern Asia and South Africa at the southernmost tip of the African continent, using Chinese micro nano quantum satellites as a bridge. On March 20th, the international academic journal Nature published a paper introducing the first quantum communication between countries in the northern and southern hemispheres of the world, calling it a "real leap towards long-distance secure quantum communication". Recently, a research team consisting of Pan Jianwei, Peng Chengzhi, Liao Shengkai, and others from the University of Science and Technology of China, together with Jinan Institute of Quantum Technology and other units, has achieved real-time satellite ground quantum key distribution between micro nano quantum satellites and miniaturized, mobile ground stations for the first time internationally. They collaborated with a research team from Stellenbosch University in South Africa to establish a quantum key over a distance of more than 12900 kilometers between China and South Africa. They successfully encrypted a picture of the Great Wall of China and a picture of an experimental site in South Africa, achieving remote and secure transmission across the globe. Quantum communication technology is currently the only secure communication method that can be proven by information theory, greatly improving the level of secure transmission of information. After more than a decade of efforts, the use of fiber optic transmission for metropolitan and intercity quantum communication has matured and been preliminarily applied. However, to achieve global long-distance quantum communication across continents and oceans, it is necessary to rely on quantum satellite platforms. The intercontinental quantum communication this time uses the new micro nano quantum satellite "Jinan No.1". Previously, it took about three to four days to achieve quantum communication between stars and the Earth, but now real-time communication can be achieved Liao Shengkai, a professor level senior engineer at the University of Science and Technology of China and project leader of the "Jinan No.1" project, introduced that in addition, the payload weight of the "Jinan No.1" is only about 23 kilograms, less than one tenth of that of the "Mozi", and the frequency of the light source has increased by about six times. In 2016, the world's first quantum science experimental satellite "Mozi" led by the research team of Pan Jianwei in China was launched, achieving quantum communication between satellites and the ground for the first time in the world. It is reported that compared to 9 years ago, the implementation of quantum communication connecting Asia and Africa has made significant improvements in communication performance and device integration. The first generation quantum communication satellite ground station weighed about 13 tons back then, but now it weighs less than 100 kilograms and can be easily deployed in various environments such as cities, mountainous areas, and plateaus. These technological advancements have enhanced the practicality and economy of quantum communication, providing key technical support for the construction of large-scale quantum communication networks and making it possible to achieve global quantum communication. The reviewer of the journal Nature praised the achievements of the China Africa joint research team as an "admirable technical achievement", stating that "it demonstrates the maturity of satellite quantum key distribution technology and represents a milestone in building a constellation of quantum and classical communication satellites". (New Society)