US–China Nuclear Fusion Race: The Battle for Energy and Military Dominance

China's HL-2M nuclear fusion device, known as the new generation of "artificial sun," is displayed at a research laboratory in Chengdu, eastern Sichuan Province, China, on Dec. 4, 2020. STR/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

The United States and China are locked in a high-stakes race to build the world’s first grid-scale nuclear fusion power plant, a competition that could shape the future of energy in the 21st century—and potentially equip the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with the most advanced weapons ever imagined.