"We hope in the race for the next-generation of supercomputers," Yang said, "China will not only win in terms of speed but also with applications as well."

Though in the past shortages of application software development has limited the performance of Sunway TaihuLight, Yang confirmed that the supercomputing center is making strides in this field, prioritizing weather forecasting, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, and big data analysis.

China's homegrown Sunway TaihuLight, is the first supercomputer of its kind to only use domestically-made parts. [Photo/Xinhua]

China is currently home to the two fastest supercomputers in the world according to TOP500, with Sunway TaihuLight taking the top spot followed by Tianhe-2, which was previously placed number one in the world since 2013.

The country is also in the process of building the world's first prototype exascale supercomputer, the Tianhe-3, according to Meng Xiangfei, director of application at the National Super Computer Tianjin Center. The prototype is expected to be completed by early 2018.