China | Going fission (and fusion)

China is building nuclear reactors faster than any other country

Can its scientists solve the fusion problem?

The No. 5 nuclear power unit in the city of Fuqing
Photograph: Lin Shanchuan/Xinhua/Eyevine

TO WEAN THEIR country off imported oil and gas, and in the hope of retiring dirty coal-fired power stations, China’s leaders have poured money into wind and solar energy. But they are also turning to one of the most sustainable forms of non-renewable power. Over the past decade China has added 37 nuclear reactors, for a total of 55, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, a UN body. During that same period America, which leads the world with 93 reactors, added two.

Explore more

This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Going fission (and fusion)”

From the December 2nd 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Discover more

Wegovy hits the People’s Republic, at last

China mainlines “Musk’s miracle medicine”, at a fraction of the cost in America

China’s government is badgering women to have babies

It is testing an expanded pro-natalist playbook


Police officers and a police dog are on guard around the Japanese school in Shenzhen, Chin

China suffers eruptions from its simmering discontents

Amid random violence and increasing protests, fears mount for social stability 


Trump, trade and feeding China’s pigs

As a trade war looms, China looks to cut its reliance on America

Helping America’s hawks get inside the head of Xi Jinping

China’s leader is a risk-taker. How far will he go in confronting America?

Snuffing out the flame of freedom in Hong Kong

Dozens of pro-democracy activists are thrown into jail for up to a decade 



Discover more

Wegovy hits the People’s Republic, at last

China mainlines “Musk’s miracle medicine”, at a fraction of the cost in America

China’s government is badgering women to have babies

It is testing an expanded pro-natalist playbook


Police officers and a police dog are on guard around the Japanese school in Shenzhen, Chin

China suffers eruptions from its simmering discontents

Amid random violence and increasing protests, fears mount for social stability 


Is India’s education system the root of its problems?

A recent comparison with China suggests that may be so

Podcast Drum Tower

Inside China’s disciplinary centres for “deviant” youth

Our weekly podcast on China. This week: what happens when young Chinese challenge the social conservatism of their parents?