Preliminary study of the status of fusion safety regulation and licensing

China has a very ambitious picture for magnetic confinement fusion energy development, which must meet the premise of safety. Nuclear safety regulatory and related licensing rules are the necessary tools to ensure the safety. Its unique safety features make it is unfeasible for fusion to completely copy the current established laws and regulations based on fission technologies. The main findings of a thorough literature study to reveal the current state and lessons learnt of the fusion safety licensing and regulation, including ITER, IAEA, IEA, European Union, United States, Korea etc., are presented and the status and problems of China fusion regulation and licensing are also summarized. Advice is given to Chinese government to develop top design for fusion reactor regulation and licensing along with some specific approaches, and conduct the relevant research as soon as possible. (authors)