China and the US Compete in the Nuclear Fusion Race: A Comprehensive Analysis of China's Technology Path and Industrial Layout

I. Nuclear Fusion Returns to the Focus of Energy, with Global Key Signals Being Released Intensively

Since the second half of 2025, the nuclear fusion field has witnessed several landmark events, making this "artificial sun" technology once again a focus in the energy industry, and also opening the door to the technological competition between China and the United States.

From China's perspective, in September 2025, experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences clearly stated that their goal is to build the world's first nuclear fusion power station and achieve grid connection by 2045; in October of the same year, the BEST device project achieved a major milestone, with the main cryostat base successfully completed, delivered, and accurately installed, laying the core foundation for subsequent device construction.

On the international level, in October 2025, a new report supported by both parties in the U.S. Congress proposed that through the construction of multiple nuclear fusion demonstration power plants and an investment of 10 billion U.S. dollars, they would win the "nuclear fusion energy competition against China"; at the same time, the World Nuclear Fusion Energy Alliance held its second ministerial meeting at the International Atomic Energy Agency conference, releasing the "2025 Nuclear Fusion Energy Development Roadmap," which states that global nuclear fusion energy will enter a "decisive leap stage," and the pace of technological commercialization is expected to accelerate.

II. Divergence in Sino-US Technology Routes: China Focuses on Low-Temperature Superconductivity, While the US Leads in High-Temperature Superconductivity

In terms of nuclear fusion technology routes, China and the United States show significant differentiated layouts, and after July 2025, China began key actions to address technical shortcomings.

(1) The United States: Leading in High-Temperature Superconductivity (HTS), with Commercial Projects Accelerating

The United States' advantage in the nuclear fusion field lies in **High-Temperature Superconductivity (HTS)** technology, with private enterprises as the core research and development subjects. In 2021, the U.S. company Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) achieved a technological breakthrough in constraining plasma with high-temperature superconducting magnets, establishing a global leading position; in June 2025, Google signed a power purchase agreement with CFS and increased its investment, and in July of the same year, the SPARC device of CFS officially entered the final assembly and debugging phase, and it is expected to start full system optimization within half a year.

Another U.S. company, Helion Energy (invested by Sam Altman), took an alternative approach, with its core technology being a compact plasma accelerator, which uses a reversed field configuration (FRC) to confine plasma, achieving temperatures over 100 million degrees Celsius. In July 2025, Helion started gigawatt-level pulse testing, completed the installation of the shielding wall, and began constructing the first commercial nuclear fusion power plant "Orion," planning to achieve grid power supply by 2028. Experts believe that it is close to a major technological breakthrough.

(2) China: Low-Temperature Superconductivity as an Advantage, Initiating High-Temperature Superconductivity Catch-Up in 2025

China's nuclear fusion research is mainly state-led, focusing resources on the **Low-Temperature Superconductivity (LTS)** technology route of the tokamak devices, currently becoming a global leader in this field, while building a mature supply chain for fusion equipment and materials.

However, in terms of high-temperature superconductivity technology, China previously had obvious shortcomings. In July 2025, China formally established the China Fusion Energy Company, listing high-temperature superconductivity technology as a core R&D direction, while multiple private tech companies have also begun to shift toward this field, marking the official start of China's technological catch-up efforts, aiming to address technical shortfalls and improve the technical layout.

III. The Long-Term Value of Nuclear Fusion: A "Game-Changer" in the Energy Landscape

Morgan Stanley emphasized that nuclear fusion technology will become a "game-changer" in the long term in the energy supply field, with its core advantages reflected in four dimensions: First, the fuel cost is low and the reserves are abundant, with deuterium, the core fuel of nuclear fusion, being extractable from seawater, and tritium obtainable through lithium breeding, with no risk of resource depletion; second, nuclear waste disposal is more controllable, compared to traditional nuclear fission, the nuclear waste produced by nuclear fusion has lower radioactivity and shorter half-life, significantly reducing environmental hazards; third, the safety is extremely high, without the risk of a meltdown, and if the device fails, the plasma will quickly cool down, and the reaction will automatically stop; fourth, the output stability is strong, effectively compensating for the intermittency defects of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, becoming a core base load power source for the new power system.

However, from the current stage, nuclear fusion still faces two challenges in commercialization: on one hand, the technology is not yet mature, with core indicators such as the duration of plasma stable confinement and the reliability of continuous operation of the device still needing breakthroughs; on the other hand, the initial capital expenditure is very high, resulting in a significantly higher levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) compared to traditional nuclear power and coal power. However, experts also point out that in the future, cost reduction can be achieved through raw material cost compression, system integration optimization, and engineering process improvement, clearing obstacles for commercialization.

IV. Overview of China's Nuclear Fusion Industry Chain Stocks

Currently, there are multiple companies in China that have entered the nuclear fusion industry chain, mainly concentrated in the equipment and material supply links. Although most of these companies have not yet made their nuclear fusion-related businesses a core revenue source, they already have technical reserves and product support capabilities. The specific stock information is as follows:

West Superconductor (688122.CH): Estimated P/E ratio in 2025 is 41.3 times, P/B ratio is 5.9 times, ROE reaches 13.8%, with technical accumulation in the superconducting materials field, capable of providing superconducting components required for nuclear fusion devices;

United Optoelectronics (600363.CH): Estimated P/E ratio in 2025 is 42.8 times, P/B ratio is 5.2 times, its laser and superconducting related technologies can be adapted to some core components of nuclear fusion devices;

Guoguang Electric (688776.CH): Estimated P/E ratio in 2025 is 76.8 times, P/B ratio is 4.8 times, with mature products in the field of low-temperature equipment, capable of meeting the low-temperature operational needs of nuclear fusion devices;

Additionally, companies such as Antai Technology (000969.CH) and Xuguang Electronics (600353.CH) have also made layout in areas such as materials and electronic components related to nuclear fusion, providing supporting services for the industry chain.

This is a condensed selection of the report. Original report:

"Morgan Stanley - China's Advances in Nuclear Energy Technology - Transition Talks: China’s Groundbreaking Advances in Nuclear Fusion Technology - 20251203 [9 pages]"

Research Report

Original: toutiao.com/article/7585515415124771363/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author only.