China seeks to exploit the substantial transition toward the use of nuclear energy that a leading international watchdog says Western economies need to make.

Chinese officials think they have a major advantage over U.S. and European nuclear companies over the coming years, enabled by the fear of nuclear energy that has predominated as of late in Western societies. A combination of climate change anxieties and the dire consequences of financing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine through the purchase of Russian natural gas has renewed Western interest in nuclear energy, potentially shortening the window of opportunity for trans-Atlantic allies to close that gap.