Chinese Leaders Reaffirm Commitment to Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the initial commitment of China to develop a nuclear industry, both President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang issued statements reiterating the importance of nuclear energy for the country’s development and affirming their commitment to develop China’s own nuclear power industry. In a written statement, President Xi praised the earlier generation of China’s leaders, who in 1955 made the decision that China would develop a nuclear industry. It was a contribution both to China’s defense and to China’s economic development, President Xi underlined.

“The nuclear industry is a strategic high-technology industry and important foundation for national defense,” President Xi wrote. China will continue utilizing the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and build a competitive nuclear industry, he said. President Li Keqiang also underlined that China intended to create a  “competitive edge” for its nuclear industry which would become an integral part of its high-tech export, “going global” strategy, aiming at the export of domestically produced nuclear power plants.

It should be noted that China’s decision in 1955 to develop a nuclear industry, was primarily focused on developing a nuclear weapon, and this aspect of a nuclear industry was also indicated in President Xi’s statement. They exploded their first nuclear weapons in 1964; the first nuclear power plant to go on line was not until 1991. The recent awarding of a science prize to Yu Min, the father of the Chinese hydrogen bomb, also underlined the significance China attaches to its nuclear capability.

China is in the process of developing its own nuclear technology with the first 1,000-MW Hualong-1 reactor, of which 85% of components are domestically produced, to follow on their 300-MW reactors, which they are already building for Pakistan. Representatives in the industry, interviewed on this occasion, underlined that safety will be of the utmost importance for them. China also requires more engineers and technician in the nuclear industry, they noted, and is therefore encouraging foreigners to come to China to work in its burgeoning nuclear industry. The Hualong-1 is to come on-line in 2020.