核聚變能源被視為自人類分裂原子以來最重要的技術突破，具有改變全球戰略格局的巨大潛力。這種能源不僅能提供安全、零溫室氣體排放的電力，且其燃料來源廣泛，不受地緣政治或天氣變化的限制。率先掌握這項技術的國家將獲得無可估量的戰略優勢。

儘管科學家對實現核聚變的基本原理充滿信心，但目前仍面臨工程上的挑戰，這部分歸因於過去數十年間資金投入的起伏不定。現今，私人資金的投入雖已超過公共資金，但美國聯邦政府對核聚變研究的資助依然不足且缺乏協調，這可能成為發展的一大阻礙。

相較之下，中國在核聚變領域的資金投入和基礎建設佈局大幅領先，並培養了數量遠超美國的相關領域博士生。為了在競爭中保持優勢，美國迫切需要發起如同曼哈頓計劃般的國家級行動，提供充足的聯邦資金，以徹底解決商業化道路上的技術難題。

Fusion energy is viewed as the most consequential technological breakthrough since the splitting of the atom, holding immense potential to reshape the global strategic landscape. This energy source not only offers safe, greenhouse gas-free electricity, but its fuel is also widely accessible and immune to geopolitical or weather-related constraints. The nation that first masters this technology will gain an incalculable strategic advantage.

Although scientists are confident in the fundamental principles of achieving fusion, significant engineering challenges remain, partly due to the boom-and-bust cycle of funding over past decades. Today, while private investment has surpassed public funding, the US federal government's financial support for fusion research remains insufficient and poorly coordinated, which could become a major obstacle to development.

In contrast, China has significantly outpaced the US in fusion funding and infrastructure planning, alongside training a far greater number of PhD students in the field. To maintain a competitive edge, the US urgently needs to launch a national effort akin to the Manhattan Project, backed by ambitious federal funding, to resolve the remaining technical hurdles on the path to commercialization.