It's only seen as harder because aerospace has had heavy R&D for almost a century whereas fusion is "relatively" new and seriously underfunded in comparison. Once significant net power fusion is solved in several decades, then it will be considered "easy" in hindsight. In the meantime, I completely agree with the fission argument. China has the most diverse and developed commercial nuclear industry in the world. It's not the most advanced in everything, but in the commercial realm, it is far ahead in some of the most important tech, specifically liquid thorium nuke tech (MSR - Molten Salt Reactors). Advantages are...
- can be closed cycle
- FAR FAR FAR less radioactive waste than 3rd generation uranium powered reactors
- FAR FAR FAR less dangerous than 4th gen Uranium/Plutonium breeder reactor tech
- burns up well over 99% of the Thorium fuel
- over ~80% of the nuclear waste are fission products that decay almost completely within 20 years
- remaining ~20% are all actinides that decay to background radiation level within 300 years, not thousands
- passively shutdown
- operate at near atmospheric pressure
- meltdown proof
- can be FAR MORE price competitive than coal
- could be bombed and destroy the containment and it would still passively shutdown
- Thorium is major by-product of rare earth production which is currently considered a waste by-product
- instead of being a waste by-product, it would become basically free fuel
- Thorium reserves enough to supply power practically forever
It is literally like the holy grail of power sources. China began heavy R&D into this back in 2015, led by Jiang Mianheng, yes that Jiang Mianheng, the son of Jiang Zemin. China accelerated R&D around 2015 when they pushed to have the first commercial reactor by the early 2030s. I encourage research into every single viable nuclear technology that exists, simply for knowledge accumulation. However, this should be the primary focus because it is the best long term solution. Once they solve the materials problem related to corrosion with these Thorium reactors, it could usher in cheap unlimited power for China and would simultaneously solve a large number of other problems such as...
- energy independence
- pollution (air, water, soil)
- water shortages (economically viable desalination)
- desertification
- food independence
This is the single most important technology China would have. Yes, I even included desertification and food independence on my list. We are talking about energy costs that would be in the neighborhood of 1-2 cents USD$ per kWh. In other words, the power would be almost free. When you have nearly free power, anything is possible, including large scale desalination, pumping of that water over vast distances, and the associated advantages, like growing food. Although I don't think desertification is such a threat anymore since China has long reversed the desertification trend
