Page 4 - AsiaElec Week 11 2023

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

Chinese nuclear safety key to

promoting expansion overseas

Continued focus on nuclear safety at home crucial in helping to boost increased
use of Chinese nuclear tech overseas

CHINA LUO Qi, senior engineer at China’s National Neither would his goal of increasing and
Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and a deputy in building upon Beijing’s existing status and gen-
WHAT: Chinese the nation’s 14th National People’s Congress, has eral technological standing in the world today.
efforts at maintaining gone on record as saying he believes that nuclear To “help the country achieve high-level
safety record at home technology is crucial to his nation’s strength scientific and technological self-reliance and
helping overseas sales. through technology. strength”, as Luo says, only a reliable and safe
In pointing to a nationally held belief that nuclear sector can “provide a strong impetus for
WHY: World nuclear power is key to helping the world’s China’s high-quality economic development.”
leading safety record biggest polluter develop its renewable sector, And with China keen to export its nuclear
the perfect selling point Luo also referred to the ever-sensitive issue of technology to anyone in Asia, and increasingly
for nations considering China’s energy security and the role nuclear is to the more developed African states with the
going nuclear. playing now, and will continue to play for the dollars to buy it, Luo’s sentiments are starting to
foreseeable future. gain momentum.
WHAT NEXT: “The key core technology must be self-reli- Xin Feng, himself the chairman of the China
Increased push to non- ant,” Luo stressed, adding that “as the nuclear Nuclear Energy Industry Corporation (CNEIC)
nuclear countries in BRI science and technology industry is a national branch of the CNNC, supported this by adding
initiative. strategic high-tech industry, its comprehensive that “in addition to ensuring domestic nuclear China has to
basic research capabilities determine the speed fuel supply, we can also support the develop-
and level of development of China’s nuclear ment of nuclear power globally. Firmly pursuing date recorded no
industry.” internationalisation is our only way to become a incidents above
It is an industry China firmly believes to be world-class enterprise.”
the world’s safest, with editorials in popular With Luo Qi saying that nuclear power is Level 2 on the
media in the nation of 1.4bn recently espousing now “going global”, the need to “go out, grab
a reported “world-leading safety record.” orders and maintain steady growth”, as Xin puts International
It is a belief not lost on Luo in his dual role as it, is becoming increasingly apparent.
a leading academic at the prestigious Chinese It is at home, however, that China can con- Nuclear and
Academy of Engineering. tinue to showcase its nuclear capability to the Radiological
Without a safety record comparable to, if rest of the world.
not better than, the Western world and other Event Scale.
leading nuclear powered nations, “developing Leading from the front
advanced nuclear power technology and tar- Last year, Beijing gave the green light on plans to
geting the world’s technological frontier”, as Luo build 10 new nuclear power plants (NPPs); this
calls it, would not be possible. is a number highly publicised in media around

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 11 15 •March•2023