The science and engineering necessary to conduct the experiment will have huge currently unforeseen payoffs in the future. Increasing the knowledge of nuclear processes will pay off in future uses of nuclear power. It will also pay off in the science and engineering of materials. Basic science rarely has an immediate payoff.
All, my career I have gotten copies of, or now downloaded both academic and government research reports. Only rarely is the intent of their research directly useful to me. However, the technology they used to generate the work almost always is.
The other benefit is the training this activity gives to young scientists and engineers.
I guess you want to give the future to the Chinese!
Compared to what? I'm not buying it.
Increasing the knowledge of nuclear processes will pay off in future uses of nuclear power.
We're not getting any new nuclear power to speak of, for which the technology in small plants has been available for decades.
I guess you want to give the future to the Chinese!
Then you guessed wrong. I prefer engineers focus upon generating wealth. This investment has been a black hole for forty years. I'd even rather see fusion research, which has all the potential ancillary benefits you described. This one is a loser.