How the U.S. Can Close China’s Lead in Nuclear Power Development

China’s centralized planning enables it to streamline reactor design, licensing, procurement and financing, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of faster nuclear deployment and growing expertise. In contrast, U.S. developers confront a web of risks: lengthy regulatory approvals, supply-chain bottlenecks, and market-finance uncertainty that inflate costs and deter investment. While the United States boasts a strong education system for nuclear talent, sophisticated capital markets and bipartisan political backing, these advantages are muted by coordination gaps.

The piece proposes that government intervene by preparing sites, aligning infrastructure, establishing regional development partnerships, and using tools like loan guarantees, tax incentives and long-term offtake contracts to lower the risk-adjusted cost of capital. Creating a predictable pipeline of reactors would also allow suppliers and training programs to scale, making each subsequent project cheaper and faster. By reshaping policy to treat the nuclear ecosystem as a public-policy objective, the U.S. could unlock private funding and compete more effectively with China.