In December 2020, the Chinese experimental nuclear fusion reactor HL-2M achieved its first plasma discharge. In May 2021, Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) announced a new world record for superheated plasma, sustaining a temperature of 120 M°C for 101 seconds and a peak of 160 M°C for 20 seconds. In December 2021 EAST set a new world record for high temperature (70 M°C) plasma of 1,056 seconds.