China's advances in nuclear energy have become another flashpoint with the U.S.
A unit of the Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Plant under construction in Guangxi. Credit: China State Construction Engineering Corporation
With 22 nuclear power reactors under construction, China is projected to become the world’s largest nuclear energy producer within a decade — surpassing the U.S., which has only built three reactors so far in the 21st century.
This week, The Wire looks at the state of China’s nuclear industry, the country’s progress on new nuclear technologies, and whether nuclear will be part of the U.S.-China tech competition in the future.
NUCLEAR AMBITIONS
Nuclear power accounts for 5 percent of China’s total electricity generation today, with 55 reactors currently in operation. That’s still a far cry from the U.S. and France, where nuclear power accounts for 18.2 percent and 62.6 percent of electricity generation respectively, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
But while American nuclear power generation has remained largely stagnant for the last decade, China’s capacity has more than tripled since 2013, a trend which allowed China to surpass F
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