Left: Fangchenggang nuclear power station under construction
In Asia, CNNC supplied MNSRs to Iran, Syria and Pakistan in 1990s. In November 2024, Thailand’s Suranaree University of Technology received systems/equipment for their MNSR from CNNC. The construction is underway. In addition, the corporation has established cooperation with more than 60 countries worldwide. Under the auspices of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing aims to build and finance approximately 30 nuclear reactors in BRI countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa over the next decade. The BRI is a strategic plan composed of six urban development land corridors linked by road, rail, energy, and digital infrastructure and the Maritime Silk Road linked by the development of ports. It is both a geopolitical and a geoeconomic project and
will pave China’s exports of various products, including large-scale nuclear equipment and machinery. “With the help of the BRI, we should actively promote nuclear energy technology and enterprises and promote the ‘going out’ of China’s entire nuclear energy industry chain”, noted Wang Yiren.
China’s nuclear cooperation play In another drive to expand its international nuclear footprint, China Isotope & Radiation Corporation (CIRC) – subsidiary of China Baoyuan Investment Co., Ltd, a member company of CNNC – has utilised its nuclear medicine and irradiation application technology to cultivate international markets such as those in South Asia and Brazil. In March CIRC signed an equipment supply contract for an irradiation station with a design capacity of 1 million Curies with the owner, the Irradiation Center of Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture. In 2024, the CIRC also won a bid for the project of the Gamma irradiation station with a designed capacity of 1 million curies for the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture. The company has also built four such projects for Malaysia. Upon completion, the irradiation stations will mainly serve to sterilise medical products, which will significantly improve the quality and processing capabilities. In early 2025, CIRC secured a major medical equipment
supply project for nine newly created inter-district emergency centres under Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Health. In June, the parent CNNC signed a letter of intent with a leading Peruvian agricultural company in Lima for the procurement of a gamma irradiation facility dedicated to food processing.
In February, Ling Jing, Vice Chairman of the CAEA and
Professor Dr. Supachai Pathumnakul, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation of Thailand, signed a MoU on Cooperation in Peaceful Use of Nuclear Technology. Subsequently, a related delegation from Thailand led by Prof. Dr. Supachai Pathumnakul visited Hainan Nuclear Power Base of China in alignment with the Ministry’s key policy on exploring the potential of SMRs. The study delegates gained practical knowledge of nuclear power plant operations, including fuel loading preparation, reactor system testing, and stringent safety regulations. The two sides will strengthen cooperation in the development and deployment of SMRs, the application of nuclear technology to people’s livelihood, nuclear safety and security, and the training of nuclear professionals. Earlier, China and Poland signed a MoU to cooperate in the nuclear energy sector. In September, Hungary signed an agreement with China, which represents a significant potential for cooperation between the two countries in the fields of nuclear energy, safety and innovation. Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary said: “The agreement was signed with the CAEA. There are huge players in the nuclear industry both in the East and the West and we cooperate in both directions.”
The competitive landscape Over recent years some countries have worked to maintain a strategic cooperation balance between both China and Russia, examples include Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Iraq. For instance, Iraq has been engaging with Russia since early 2024 with the aim of signing an agreement to co-develop SMRs at unspecified locations. At the same time, Iraq is partnering with the CAEA to establish a subcritical “training reactor” at al-Tuwaitha nuclear industry complex outside Baghdad.
While South Korea’s KHNP and Russia’s Rosatom are
potentially key competitors for CNNC, China and Russia have established a strong strategic partnership. During a visit to Moscow in March 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a long-term strategic cooperation programme in the field of nuclear energy. The agreement, which extends to 2030, includes the development of “fast neutron reactors”. Rosatom’s General Manager Alexey Likhachev said his
company was willing to help China surpass the United States in installed nuclear power capacity and Russia has
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