China has positioned nuclear fusion at the center of its technological ambitions, aiming to replicate the breakthrough efficiency that DeepSeek achieved in artificial intelligence—this time in the quest for limitless clean energy. The question is whether fusion, a far more complex physical challenge than software optimization, can yield to the same cost-engineering approach that has characterized Chinese tech innovation.
The comparison is deliberate. Like DeepSeek's AI efficiency breakthroughs achieved under resource constraints, Chinese fusion startups are pursuing what Yang Zhao, CEO of Energy Singularity, describes as "extreme efficiency combined with pragmatism"—optimizing every component for cost from initial design through final operation.
Energy Singularity exemplifies this approach. The company achieved a significant milestone by creating the world's first functioning high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tokamak, called Honghuang 70, in record time. More recently, they set a new magnet strength record at 21.7 teslas, surpassing Commonwealth Fusion Systems' previous benchmark.
The company claims it can build its Q≥10 device—HH170, designed to produce more energy than it consumes—for approximately $420 million. That figure stands substantially below Western competitors' budgets. Yang attributes the cost advantage to complete in-house design, manufacturing, and supply chain control, avoiding expensive intermediaries that inflate costs in fragmented Western fusion ecosystems.
"Our goal is to reduce fusion's cost per kilowatt-hour to coal levels or lower," Yang stated in a recent interview. "Otherwise, even successful fusion remains economically irrelevant."
China's 15th Five-Year Plan, covering 2026-2030, designates nuclear fusion as a top-tier technological priority alongside AI and quantum computing. The government aims to "achieve breakthroughs in key fusion technologies" including tritium fuel preparation, materials testing, and superconducting magnet manufacturing—the core components required to make fusion commercially viable.





