China is accelerating its nuclear power development to meet surging electricity demand from AI data centers, positioning itself to dominate the global nuclear industry. Of 58 new conventional nuclear plants under construction worldwide, over half are in China. The country is heavily investing in small modular reactors (SMRs) and nuclear fusion research, leveraging its centrally planned economy and supply-chain self-sufficiency to overcome cost and regulatory hurdles stalling Western projects.

Damien Ma of Gavekal predicts China will have the "world's most dynamic and significant nuclear industry" over the next decade "by a wide margin." China's electricity demand is hitting records, with data center consumption forecast to quadruple to 774 terawatt hours by 2030, per Wood Mackenzie. Nuclear expansion aligns with Xi Jinping's goals of peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. Private firms like Shanghai-based Junhe Atomic, founded in 2025 by former state nuclear executive Tian Jiashu and backed by Neil Shen's Hong Shan Capital, are developing SMRs with a demonstration target of 2031.

The sector's growth coincides with tense US-China relations, as AI emerges as a key friction point ahead of meetings between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.