Chinese scientists have allowed their counterparts in the United States to start up and control a thermonuclear fusion reactor in eastern Anhui Province.

The test lasted nearly five seconds after scientists with General Atomics USA working in their labs started up the fusion reactor at the Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Hefei, provincial capital of Anhui, Wu Songtao, deputy director of the institute, told Xinhua.

"The test has laid a foundation for joint study of fusion reaction with different countries," said Wu, adding that the U.S. scientists were provided with all real-time data during the test.

"We have plan to carry out more such tests in the future and more countries are expected to be involved," said Wu.

Wu's institute spent eight years and 200 million yuan (25 million U.S. dollars) building the Experimental Advanced Super Tokamak (EAST) fusion reactor, which replicates the energy generating process of the sun.

Unlike traditional nuclear fission reactors, which split atoms to create energy and produce dangerous radioactive waste, the EAST uses nuclear fusion to compress atoms at extremely high temperatures to generate energy that would produce very little pollution.

Scientists theorize that a fully functional fusion reactor would provide cheaper, safer, cleaner and endless energy and reduce the world's dependence on fossil fuels.

The problem scientists continue to face is that starting a fusion reaction takes more energy than can be produced from the reaction.

The EAST is part of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) program, which was initiated by the United States, France and Russia in the 1980s with a purpose of establishing a thermonuclear fusion reactor.

China joined ITER in 2003.

Source: Xinhua