This article from “Information Technology and Innovation Foundation”, which I have never heard of but does not raise my government propaganda hackles, says China is “China likely stands 10 to 15 years ahead of the United States in its ability to deploy fourth-generation nuclear reactors at scale”. Also, “China’s innovation strengths in nuclear power pertain especially to organizational, systemic, and incremental innovation.” So, we can still invent technology here in the USA but we can’t follow through to execute and construct it at scale. Sounds about right. Plus, we have a strong headwind of fossil fuel company propaganda to overcome, which the nuclear and regulated electric utility industries do not seem able to match.

Nuclear power has to be a big part of the climate solution. It just has to, and we should have started the pipeline decades ago, but there is no time like the present and China has the right idea. There is no reason this should be threatening to the U.S. either, other than our companies’ inability to compete. We should partner with them and get this technology built for the good of the world, which is also our own good. Or if companies based in China are too much of a political hot potato, partner with Japanese and Korean companies that know how to get things built.