In late April, Beijing hosted the 12th China International Exhibition on Nuclear Power Industry (CIENPI) that brought together global nuclear industry leaders to share experience and demonstrate their best practices and solutions in nuclear technology. Rosatom presented its most advanced VVER-1200 and BN-800 reactor units, nuclear fuel fabrication capabilities, integrated offer giving lifelong access to the entire range of Rosatom’s products and services, as well as other solutions.
Rosatom was welcomed at CIENPI 2017 as a guest of honor. Its partnership with China comprises many civil nuclear projects, including the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant where Rosatom built the first two 1,000 MW reactors. They were commissioned in 2006 and 2007 respectively and have been operating without failure till now. Tianwan NPP is a major example of economic cooperation between China and Russia. Another step was made in 2010 when Rosatom signed a framework agreement for the construction of Tianwan Units 3 and 4 based on VVER-1000 reactors with a capacity of 1,060 MW each. The construction is progressing in accordance with the schedule to commission the new units in 2018.
Russia is committed to continuing the bilateral cooperation by participating in the plant’s next phase (Tianwan Units 7 and 8) and other nuclear construction projects in China. According to Sergei Dyomin, Vice-President for East Asia at Rusatom International Network, the scope of Russia-China cooperation in nuclear is impressive. He mentioned that the two parties studied the possibility of building VVER reactors at new sites in China.
Nuclear power plants are far from being the only area of mutual interests. Rosatom took part in the construction of four gas centrifuge facilities and a nuclear fuel fabrication plant. Rosatom Group was also involved in the China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR) project. It was designed in Russia based on the BN-600 prototype and reached its full capacity on 22 December 2014. Negotiations are underway to build fast neutron reactors in China. In May 2014, Rosatom and the Chinese Atomic Energy Agency (CAEA) signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly construct floating nuclear stations.
The Russian-Chinese cooperation has long been gathering pace. A good example is Rosatom’s regional center opened in Beijing (China) during the Nuclear Industry China international exhibition in April 2016. “Rosatom’s office in Beijing will consolidate our efforts in the region and bring more Russian nuclear companies to East Asian,” Rusatom International Network President Alexander Merten said at the event.
