"No quick wins" is some weird editorializing OP. That phrase is nowhere in the article. The closest thing to it is that China managed this breakthrough due to "strategic stamina," i.e it took time to make this work. Since thorium reactors were proposed in the late 90s and this is the first that appears commercislly viable, that is literally true.
Overall, this is a huge accomplishment, especially if China is willing to share the design. Even if they aren't, this should dramatically ramp down China's fossil fuel usage over the next couple of decades, so its still a win for the rest of us.
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