中国已成为聚变能源竞赛中的严肃竞争者，其优势更多来自国家项目而非初创企业。约 1500 名研究人员近期齐聚合肥，见证 BEST 项目推进；该装置计划于 2027 年建成，并为预计 2030 年运行的 CFEDR 示范堆提供验证。这一时间表至少比其他政府主导计划快 10 年。中国的推进模式可概括为三点：集中设定研究优先级、提供大规模资金，以及提前建设反应堆所需工业供应链。

技术路径上，中国暂时选择较成熟的托卡马克路线。要实现“燃烧等离子体”，装置需在超过 1.5 亿摄氏度和远强于地球磁场数十万倍的条件下运行。2026 年 1 月 1 日，EAST 团队报告将等离子体密度提高到曾被认为不可能的水平。工程能力同样关键：聚变装置依赖超导磁体、真空室和电力模块等复杂部件，而中国企业已为 ITER 等国际项目提供零件。燃料方面，BEST 初期仍依赖外部氚供应，但目标是通过锂包层自行增殖氚。

制度与资本配置进一步强化了这种领先势头。2025 年 7 月，中国设立 China Fusion Energy 国有企业；2026 年 1 月 15 日，新的 Atomic Energy Law 生效；3 月 12 日，核聚变被纳入第十五个五年规划等高层经济蓝图。与此同时，全球 77 家聚变初创企业累计融资 150 亿美元，其中 42 家美国公司融资 80 亿美元，而 8 家中国公司更快筹得约 50 亿美元。西方私营公司也瞄准 2030 年代初并网，因此胜负未定；但按当前进度，中国极可能成为最早建成商业聚变反应堆的候选者之一。

China has become a serious contender in fusion energy, with its advantage coming more from state programmes than startups. Around 1,500 researchers recently gathered in Hefei as the BEST project advanced; that machine is due for completion in 2027 and will serve as a test bed for the CFEDR demonstration reactor expected to run by 2030. This timeline is at least 10 years ahead of other government-led efforts. China’s approach has three pillars: centrally set research priorities, large-scale funding, and early construction of the industrial supply chain needed for reactors.

Technically, China is sticking for now to the more established tokamak route. To reach “burning plasma”, a device must operate above 150m°C and under magnetic fields hundreds of thousands of times stronger than Earth’s. On January 1st 2026, the EAST team reported plasma-density gains once considered impossible. Engineering matters just as much: fusion machines depend on superconducting magnets, vacuum chambers and power modules, and Chinese firms already supply parts for international projects such as ITER. On fuel, BEST will initially rely on external tritium, but the goal is eventually to breed its own using a lithium blanket.

Institutional support and capital allocation further strengthen China’s position. In July 2025 it created the state-owned China Fusion Energy; on January 15th 2026 a new Atomic Energy Law took effect; and on March 12th fusion entered the 15th Five-Year Plan and other high-level economic blueprints. Globally, 77 fusion startups have raised $15bn, including 42 American firms with $8bn, while 8 Chinese firms raised about $5bn faster. Western private firms also target grid connection in the early 2030s, so the race is not settled; but on current trajectories, China is clearly one of the likeliest candidates to build the first commercial fusion reactor.