Is China Pulling Ahead in the Quest for Fusion Energy?

In the rocky terrain of China’s Sichuan province, a massive X-shaped building is quickly rising, its crisscrossed arms stretching outward in a bold, futuristic design. From a satellite’s view, it could be just another ambitious megaproject in a country known for building fast and thinking big. But to some observers of Chinese tech development, it’s yet more evidence that China may be on the verge of pulling ahead in one of the most consequential technological races of our time: the quest to achieve commercial nuclear fusion.