When the United States began building two new reactors at Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear plant in 2013, it was billed as the rebirth of atomic energy. Instead, the project ran seven years late and $17 billion over budget, becoming one of the most expensive power plants ever constructed. Meanwhile, China built thirteen comparable reactors in the same period — and has another thirty-plus underway, the New York Times reported.
China’s advantage: repetition and state backing
China’s nuclear rise has been deliberate. Three state-owned developers receive cheap loans and guaranteed power-purchase agreements, allowing them to build continuously without fear of financial collapse. By standardising a small number of reactor designs and constructing them repeatedly, China has driven down costs and shortened build times to about five to six years — roughly half the Western average.
America’s problem: cost and complexity
In the US, new reactors suffer from inconsistent regulation, rising interest rates, and political opposition. Developers also keep switching to new designs that require different safety approvals and supply chains. The result is chronic delay and investor fatigue. The Vogtle reactors, for instance, took eleven years and cost $35 billion — a figure that chilled enthusiasm for further large-scale projects.
A shift in global energy leadership
China’s reactor fleet now grows faster than any other country’s, and by 2030 its nuclear capacity is projected to surpass America’s. At home, Beijing views nuclear power as a key complement to solar and wind to cut coal dependence; abroad, it sees exports as a way to extend strategic influence, just as it has with high-speed rail and telecom infrastructure.
The U.S. bets on small reactors and private innovation
Washington’s new plan leans on small modular reactors developed by private start-ups backed by tech giants such as Google and Amazon. These designs promise lower costs and faster assembly but are still years from commercial operation. The Trump administration has pushed deregulation and smaller government financing, hoping private capital will restore America’s edge. Critics argue that without the coordinated industrial policy China uses, the U.S. risks falling even further behind.
The race for nuclear dominance
China’s next-generation projects include gas-cooled “fourth-generation” reactors, small modular units like the Linglong One, and efforts to recycle spent fuel and experiment with thorium. Analysts say the country is now 10 to 15 years ahead of the U.S. in its ability to deploy these technologies at scale. Once again, the pattern from solar panels to electric vehicles may repeat: America invents, China builds, and the world buys.
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