Even if there weren't this overt racism and defunding in US institutions at the moment, China looks like the place to be for applied physics, especially fusion. Three tokamaks in operation right now and another state-of-the-art reactor commissioned and expected to be in operation by 2030 in a country that doesn't seem to be plagued with the endless delays and skyrocketing budgets that western projects always face.

When the big breakthrough comes, you probably want to be around it.