itif.org
How Innovative Is China
in Nuclear Power?
STEPHEN EZELL | JUNE 2024
Though China built upon a foreign base of technology, it has become the world’s leading
proponent of nuclear energy. Chinese firms are well ahead of their Western peers, supported by a
whole-of-government strategy that provides extensive financing and systemic coordination.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
China intends to build 150 new nuclear reactors between 2020 and 2035, with 27
currently under construction and the average construction timeline for each reactor about
seven years, far faster than for most other nations.
China has commenced operation of the world’s first fourth-generation nuclear reactor, for
which China asserts it developed some 90 percent of the technology.
China is leading in the development and launch of cost-competitive small modular
reactors (SMRs).
Overall, analysts assess that China likely stands 10 to 15 years ahead of the United
States in its ability to deploy fourth-generation nuclear reactors at scale.
China’s innovation strengths in nuclear power pertain especially to organizational,
systemic, and incremental innovation. Many fourth-generation nuclear technologies have
been known for years, but China’s state-backed approach excels at fielding them.
Analysts assess that America and China are likely at par when it comes to efforts to
develop nuclear fusion technologies, but they warn that China’s demonstrated ability to
deploy fission reactors at scale gives it an advantage for when fusion comes online.
Looking narrowly at scientific publications on nuclear energy, China ranks first in the H-
index, a commonly used metric measuring the scholarly impact of journal publications.
From 2008 to 2023, China’s share of all nuclear patents increased from 1.3 percent to
13.4 percent, and the country leads in the number of nuclear fusion patent applications.
