Chapter 758: ITER poses no threat to us

Professor Xiao.

I’ve come with bad news.

Since we’re old friends, Xiao Chenghan skipped pleasantries and said bluntly: “The U.S. plans to pressure us, freezing Xia’s access rights in the ITER organization and blocking the plasma control code library. And from the current situation, many countries are likely to support this.”

By the end, Xiao Chenghan sounded resentful.

These bastards get tough as hell when it comes to demanding money.

Xu Qingzhou poured tea for Xiao Chenghan and asked: “What’s our plan?”

“Restrict rare metal exports, cut off General Atomics’ DIII-D tokamak supply of superconducting materials. Also, seek support from friendly nations to force the U.S. back to the negotiating table. Overall, fight while talking.”

Xiao Chenghan spoke fiercely.

“We have the confidence now,” Xu Qingzhou nodded.

There’s no doubt the West still fears Xia.

Energy will shape the future order; once controlled nuclear fusion succeeds, the old oil and gas hegemony will collapse instantly. Whoever achieves commercialization first will become the core architect of the new rules.

Seeing Xu Qingzhou’s calmness, Xiao Chenghan said: “You don’t seem surprised at all.”

Xu Qingzhou smiled and said: “This fits the U.S.’s usual style.”

“Exactly. Whenever something threatens them—even an ally—they’ll strike. I came just to warn you, so you won’t be caught off guard.”

“Thank you for your concern. We now have our own database; our dependence on ITER is minimal, almost negligible.”

During the early construction phase, Xu Qingzhou’s team studied data from ITER member nations’ devices and avoided many pitfalls, but later they largely charted their own course.

Xiao Chenghan nodded. As long as they were prepared, that was enough. He paused, studying the fatigue in Xu Qingzhou’s brow: “When are you planning your next experiment?”

“The 12th.”

Xiao Chenghan was startled, sipped his tea, and asked with a smile: “Oh, so soon? Are you planning to gradually increase power output, or extend steady-state operation time?”

“We’re aiming for a triple product of 3×10 keV·s/m.”

“Oh, still—”

Xiao Chenghan froze, staring at Xu Qingzhou in disbelief: “You’re planning to jump straight to ignition threshold?”

“Yes,” Xu Qingzhou nodded firmly.

Xiao Chenghan’s hands trembled slightly, then fell silent. No way—they’re going all-in right from the start?

The U.S. launched an attack within ITER, accusing Xia of using ITER to expand its international influence, suspecting Xia of acquiring sensitive fusion technology through ITER, and demanding a technical security review.

Everything unfolded exactly as predicted.

Xia had already prepared, so the impact was minimal.

Southwest Institute of Nuclear Physics.

Shao Yilin’s expression was complex; holding a document, he knocked and entered the office: “Professor, this is news from Beijing.”

“This—”

Zhang Zhi’s face darkened.

The Materials Research Institute achieved a triple product of 3×10 keV·s/m and sustained operation for 120 seconds.

The office fell silent.

Zhang Zhi stared intently at the disclosed data, cursing inwardly. This speed completely defied the laws of scientific progress!

“120 seconds—still a huge gap from our own experiments.”

Zhang Zhi was stunned inside, but his expression remained unchanged. He told Shao Yilin: “Notify everyone. Hold a meeting at 3 p.m.”

“Understood.”