China just made a big, coordinated bet on fusion energy - and it fits a larger plan to lead in breakthrough tech. Chinese state and industry leaders are building an innovation engine designed to boost growth at home and extend long-term influence abroad. They’re backing both basic science (life sciences, materials, quantum) and applied fields (semiconductors, EVs, AI, batteries) - and now fusion, often described as the last new energy source humanity will need. The idea is simple: place smart bets where the next century’s value will be created, then organize around them.

This week’s move shows that organization in action. About $2.1 billion in fresh funding elevates Shanghai-based China Fusion Energy Co. as the central, state-controlled commercialization vehicle for fusion. It connects top universities, industrial champions, and state-owned energy firms - several as investors - behind one goal: build a Chinese fusion industry. Local coverage put it plainly: “the national team has arrived.” From the outside, China’s blend of public and private can seem opaque, but you can see the momentum. Some facilities are so large they’re visible from space, and this new company signals that fusion is now a national-scale priority.

Technically, China’s path is clear and pragmatic. The plan centers on a tokamak power plant that uses high-temperature superconductors, enabling a more compact and potentially more competitive design. It’s the same general approach used by leading private developers, and it’s a strong validation of the direction the field is heading. But there’s a bigger message here: coordinated state action has fully entered the fusion race. As one close observer notes, this marks a shift to a “full-scale, nationally coordinated industrial strategy” for fusion.

We’ve seen versions of this before. With manufacturing strength, deep supply chains, workforce development, and central direction, China has come to dominate new industries like solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles - many of them pioneered in the U.S. Meanwhile, the U.S. hasn’t kept pace on fusion. A Government Accountability Office review found that only about 1 percent of Department of Energy fusion funding supports commercialization, largely through the modest Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program. If the U.S. wants to compete in deploying fusion, federal commitment needs to rise to the level of the opportunity.