Xi applauds success of world's fastest supercomputer

Photo taken on June 16, 2013 shows the supercomputer Tianhe-2 developed by China's National University of Defense Technology. The supercomputer Tianhe-2, capable of operating as fast as 33.86 petaflops per second, was ranked on Monday as the world's fastest computing system, according to TOP500, a project ranking the 500 most powerful computer systems in the world. (Xinhua/Long Hongtao)

Chinese President Xi Jinping has congratulated those involved in the success of Tianhe-2, the world's fastest supercomputer.

In a statement available on Tuesday, Xi extended greetings to all the staff who took part in the development of Tianhe-2, which has a peak performance speed of 54.9 quadrillion operations per second.

Xi said the success showed that China has gained a leading place in the world in this field. He encouraged scientists to make further contributions and achievements in a bid to help build an innovative country.

The semiannual Top 500 listing of the world's fastest supercomputers was released on Monday.

Tianhe-2 is almost twice as fast as the second computer, Titan from the United States.

Tianhe-2 was designed and built by China's National University of Defense Technology. The computer matched home-grown Feiteng-1500 CPUs as well as Intel Xeon and Xeon Phi processors.

This is the second time China has made it to first place in the Top 500 list. Tianhe-2's predecessor, Tianhe-1A, was the world's fastest supercomputer from November 2010 to June 2011.