Belt and Road Initiative a boost to nuclear industry

The implementation of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative will add more fuel to China's nuclear industry, said Qian Zhimin, general manager of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) on Tuesday in Beijing.

The export of every nuclear power unit involves more than 200 companies, creating about 150,000 jobs and promoting investment of 100 billion yuan for the equipment manufacturing, natural uranium, nuclear fuel, maintenance and decommission, said Qian.

"There are over 60 countries alongside the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and about 40 of them have their plan to develop the nuclear power industry. According to our calculation, if we can take 20 percent of the market share, China can export 30 nuclear power units, which means 1 trillion yuan worth in unit manufacturing, creating 5 million jobs and 3 trillion yuan for the whole industry chain," Qian added.

China's latest nuclear equipment deal was signed with Argentina on November 15, 2015, during the recent G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, expanding the nation's nuclear exports to the South American countries.

The agreement between CNNC and Nucleoelectrica, the state-owned nuclear operator of Argentina, will likely be worth 30 billion yuan ($4.7 billion), according to earlier report.

Besides CNNC, other Chinese nuclear powerhouses also speeded up to spread their wings in the global market.

In October, a Chinese consortium lead by China General Nuclear Power Corp, won the contract to build Hinkley Point C facility on Britain's northern Somerset coast, together with French power giant Electricite de France SA.

The consortium also got involved in projects of Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk, and Bradwell B nuclear power station in Essex.

The project of Bradwell B will use Hualong One, China's homegrown third-generation nuclear technology.

China's uranium exploitation can secure the rapid development of the nuclear power industry, Qian said.

"We are active in exploiting the uranium resources in China and also seeking international cooperation. With the upgrade of nuclear power technology in the future, the utilization level will also be improved," Qian added.