The US official overseeing research on nuclear fusion and quantum computing defended proposed funding cuts to federal science programs, even as the country’s top fusion CEO warned the US was losing the race with China.

A White House budget proposal released this month called for deep cuts to the National Science Foundation and to research programs at the Department of Energy and elsewhere. DOE Undersecretary Darío Gil said the cuts wouldn’t derail US efforts on cutting-edge tech, both because AI itself is making research more efficient and because more private capital is covering the gap. And at least one program, the Genesis Mission, which aims to support fusion and other select technologies, will see its budget grow, Gil said, adding that the effort is expected to draw a record number of applicants when its first funding deadline closes this month.

But Bob Mumgaard, CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, cautioned onstage that while the US has done a good job funding basic fusion science, it is now lagging far behind China in backing for construction of the first generation of commercial-scale plants. “You can tell where countries are going to end up on [fusion] by where the investments are going today,” he said. And as for the risk of losing that race to China, “not only are we at risk, it is actively happening.”