POLICY & MARKETS | CHINA’S RISE


previously helped China build four nuclear reactors and is building four more. Rather than competing with China, Rosatom looks for financing from the country. Rosatom’s key power generation unit, the Nuclear Energy Industrial Complex, said in April it had received a AAA rating from China’s Beijing headquartered, state-owned ratings agency Dagong Global Credit Ratings, with a “stable” assessment. Rosatom is preparing to issue bonds in Chinese yuan. Amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, many nations,


especially those in Central and Eastern Europe are seeking energy diversification to reduce dependence on Russian energy resources, including nuclear. South Korea’s KHNP and China’s CNNC thus emerge as a potentail alternative. China’s main nuclear players are CNNC, China General


Nuclear Power Group (CGN), and the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC), although CNNC will take a leading role within the BRI cooperation strategy through its international network, backed by the Chinese Government and the CAEA. CNNC is an umbrella corporation for China’s nuclear


Below: Yangjiang nuclear power plant is the biggest nuclear power plant in China Source: China General Nuclear Power Corporation


Bottom: China has advantages in terms of its cost of production and strong domestic and global supply chain networks Source: ANS


technology exports. It has 20 independent companies and organisations, such as China Nuclear Finance Co., Ltd, China Nuclear Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd, and Nuclear Industry College. Some of these organisations further break down into subsidiary companies. CNNC has seven global offices: Vienna, Austria for the


European market, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the Middle East market, Moscow, for Russia and the Central Asian market, Abuja, Nigeria for the African market, Buenos Aires, Argentina for the Americas, Islamabad, Pakistan for Asia, and Perth, Australia for Australia and Canada. CNNC has attached great importance to cooperation with ASEAN countries in the field of nuclear technology. This includes the promotion of the construction and deployment of nuclear power plants, the optimisation of the development and application capabilities of various types of irradiation facilities, and improving the efficiency of nuclear power systems. Chinese nuclear-related enterprises


and institutions signed 10 cooperation agreements with the ASEAN countries and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region at the 2nd China-ASEAN Forum on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technology held in September 2023, for instance. China has advantages in terms of its cost of production


and strong domestic and global supply chain networks compared with many competitor nations. China is the world’s largest steel producer, for example, and they can transport nuclear equipment through their well-developed domestic transport network at low-cost. Also, China is a shipping industry giant and can transfer at lost cost. China has invested in and purchased many ports worldwide. These ports can support Chinese shipments further afield. China’s latest Hualong One reactor is entirely made of Chinese-made components. Parts ordered from Chinese domestic suppliers cost less, its processes are considered more efficient, and construction is faster. To further build influence in the global market, China


has also implemented a scholarship programme to train hundreds of engineers in various partner countries focusing on its Hualong One technology. Moreover, China can provide favorable financing terms to its export countries. Given the Chinese government finances its own reactor exports the cost of capital is relatively low. The Chinese nuclear export sector also benefits from its renowned economies of scale which lower costs further. Further, they have endeavoured to optimise and simplify


their reactor designs while maintaining a good safety record. Drawing on experience gained from engineering construction and operation and maintenance, the “Hualong One” reactor continues to undergo technical improvements and optimisation, completing the preliminary design and preliminary safety analysis of the subsequent standard model. Research and development of high- temperature gas-cooled reactor operation and maintenance technologies continue to be developed. For example, recent developments include the integrated closed-cycle fast reactor which has made significant progress in reactor design, metal fuels, and dry processing technologies. Similarly, the 2 MWt liquid-fueled thorium-based molten salt experimental reactor achieved full power operation, the outer dome of the Linglong-1 reactor was installed, while research and development of modular multifunctional small reactors, floating reactors, and gas-cooled micro- reactors are progressing in an orderly manner. Meanwhile, China is also actively developing fusion devices such as the China Huanliu-3 and the Honghuang-70 reactor, which continue to achieve new experimental breakthroughs.


China’s nuclear future China has become a global economic powerhouse in a few decades. The country now controls substantial proportions of international industry supply chains from steel production to shipping. All these fundamentals will favourably serve Chinese nuclear technology exports. In recent years, Chinese export policy has shifted to final high- tech products and nuclear technology export is part of that strategy. To boost its global nuclear technology exports, the country will use two levers: direct investment and various platforms of Chinese diplomacy, such as the BRI, the BRICS, the ASEAN+China, the China-Africa summit. China’s time on the international nuclear stage is clearly coming and while achieving nuclear technology dominance is complex and time consuming, China knows how to be patient. ■


28 | November 2025 | www.neimagazine.com


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