China claims major breakthrough in “artificial sun” fusion project
China has achieved a major engineering milestone in its fusion energy program, marking a major step forward on what media has dubbed the “artificial sun” project.
What Is Fusion?
Fusion generates energy by combining light atomic nuclei rather than splitting heavy atoms, the method used in conventional nuclear power plants. While the reaction occurs naturally in stars, reproducing it on Earth requires temperatures of over 180 million degrees Fahrenheit while containing the plasma with powerful magnetic fields, as no material structure can withstand direct contact with these temperatures.
Fusion is seen as a potential long-term energy source because the fuel—typically forms of hydrogen—is widely available, and the reaction produces no carbon emissions during operation. Unlike wind or solar power, fusion is not dependent on weather or daylight conditions; unlike fossil fuels, it does not involve combustion.
Newsweek contacted the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Foreign Ministry for comment, but did not receive a response prior to publication.
Researchers at the Institute of Plasma Physics in Hefei, Anhui province, said on June 27 that they had successfully tested two key superconducting magnet systems intended for future fusion reactors: a large toroidal-field magnet and a high-temperature superconducting central solenoid coil, both essential for containing superheated plasma.
The magnet measures 69 feet by 39 feet by 11 feet and weighs 582 metric tons. It has a D-shape, with 16 identical magnets to construct the full torus, a 6.5-tesla magnetic field capacity, and a targeted 60-year life span under extreme operational stress. The central solenoid coil is a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) 60 kA ‘igniter’ component that stabilizes the plasma current.
The toroidal-field magnet keeps plasma suspended inside the reactor without touching the walls. It stores three times the energy of the equivalent toroidal-field (TF) magnets at France-based International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), the world’s largest nuclear fusion project. The central solenoid drives the plasma current that stabilizes the reaction.
According to state researchers, the systems were 100 percent Chinese-made, with six years of engineering work, 47 patents and 14 technical standards, to manufacture all raw materials. Independent Western verification remains unavailable.
The test did not involve electricity production. Instead, it confirmed successful development and testing of reactor-scale components that would be placed between experimental plasma devices and future demonstration systems.
These magnets are part of the CRAFT (Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology) national scientific infrastructure facility, which supports future reactors.
In 2021, the “artificial sun” reactor, known formally as the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), set a record by sustaining high-temperature plasma for 1,056 seconds.
China’s Green Energy Push
Beijing has invested at least $6.5 billion in commercial fusion-related projects between 2023 and September 2025, according to estimates from the Special Competitive Studies Project, a Washington, D.C.-based technology policy think tank. This year, the Chinese Communist Party named fusion energy as a priority area for its latest five year plan.
“China has been pursuing ‘new quality productive forces’ that would enable high-quality, technology-driven growth rather than traditional capital-intensive manufacturing, wrote Jane Nakano and Yu-Hsuan Yeh, a senior fellow and research intern at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in a recent analysis.
“In addition to fusion energy, the ”frontier technology areas,’ under the 15th five-year plan, include AI, quantum technology, and deep-sea and arctic exploration,” they said.
No country has generated electricity from fusion on the scale needed for commercial power.
ITER remains the largest multinational effort, while programs in the United States, Japan, and South Korea include both government-led and private-sector research.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Feng and James Debens.
