BEIJING: China’s Vice Minister for National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Wang Xiaotao has said that Beijing is in initial talks with several countries, including Pakistan and Argentina for the possibility of exporting nuclear powered equipment.
China has installed six nuclear reactors with capacity of 3.4 million kilowatts in Pakistan as Beijing also plans on building two 1100 mw reactors in Karachi with a total of US$6.5 billion in assistance.
The minister said that this is only the beginning of China’s plan of exporting their nuclear technologies, adding, “This is just one of the facets China has explored for the sharing and exporting of their nuclear expertise.”
In addition to the six built in Pakistan, China has also built two 300 MW reactors at Chasma – Pakistan’s Punjab province – as well as two more 320 MW units at the same location. The reactors they are planning on building in Karachi will be the first ever in the area.
With China rapidly providing their assistance and expertise in creating nuclear powered equipment, countries such as India and United States are not as enthusiastic about the progress.
The two countries have expressed reservations on what China is doing, saying that the two reactors that will be built in Karachi are being done so without the sanction of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The NSG supervises the global civil nuclear technology commerce.
India has secured the NSG waiver last 2009, right after the India-US civil nuclear deal took place.
