The construction of the BEST facility has been progressing rapidly, while the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor, or CFETR, is under design and preliminary operational evaluations in Hefei. However, significant engineering and physical challenges remain for harnessing fusion energy.

"To address these challenges, we must pool the wisdom and strength of scientists and engineers worldwide by fostering more pragmatic, intimate and transparent international collaboration," said the declaration.

Thanks to the accelerated advancement of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER, project, the continuous support from global governments and growing interest from private sectors worldwide, fusion research has become a focal point for global scientific and industrial innovation.

"The ITER has been the most remarkable example of a project that has been developed together, constructed together, but we have to continue working together," said Gianfranco Federici, scientist and program manager of EUROfusion, a consortium that aims to harness nuclear fusion as a clean and virtually limitless source of energy for the future.

Federici said the declaration is "a tangible example of a proposal to overcome differences and conflicts", and "work on a common goal together to achieve free clean energy that can support the growth, freedom and peace of all humankind".

Alan Costley, a senior scientist from the UK, said: "It's necessary to have this collaboration across many countries, labs and institutions. … And now, China will be playing a leading role in this collaboration."

zhulixin@chinadaily.com.cn