The total scale of China’s nuclear power ambitions look likely to see the country soon rise to the top of world’s nuclear power rankings for the first time, overtaking long-term incumbent the USA. As of mid-2025, China had 58 commercial nuclear power units operating with an installed capacity of more than 60.7 GW, and a further 44 units reportedly under construction with an installed capacity of 52.4 GW.
According to the ‘14th Five-Year Plan for a Modern Energy System’ and the ‘China Nuclear Energy Development Report 2025’, China’s total installed capacity target for nuclear power is to reach 150 GW in 2035, and the nuclear share of power generation is expected to increase to about 10%.
In terms of nuclear power equipment manufacturing, China has now achieved 100% localisation of key nuclear power equipment and independent control of all the key component technologies. In 2024, a total of 114 sets of domestic nuclear power equipment were delivered, doubling the number seen in 2023.
Wang Yiren, Former Vice Chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA), in the late April 2025 Spring International Forum on Sustainable Nuclear Energy Development held in Beijing, suggested the nation should adhere to a three-step nuclear development strategy of “thermal reactor-fast reactor-fusion reactor” and also establish major national science and technology projects around integrated closed-cycle fast reactor nuclear energy systems and small modular reactors (SMRs).
Initially, China implemented a strategy of prioritising technology development for the domestic market first, then entering export markets. As of today, the country has exported a total of seven nuclear power units. As the only Chinese enterprise to export its nuclear power technology, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has sent seven nuclear power units, eight research reactors, and subcritical facilities to seven countries.
In particular, CNNC has exported seven nuclear power units to Pakistan, with a gross installed capacity of 4.63 GW. It includes Chasma Nuclear Power Plant – CNP-300 units (C-1, C-2, C-3, and C-4 became operational in 2000-2017); Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (K-2 and K-3 became operational in 2021-2023); and Chasma Unit-5 (C-5) which is under construction. For research reactors, CNNC and its subsidiary China Zhongyuan Engineering Corp (CZEC) performed upgrades/renovation for the Chinese-supplied heavy-water research reactor – Es-Salam in Birine, Algeria in 2014-2019. In June 2017, CNNC completed the export of LEU-MNSR fuel to Ghana. Nigeria also operates a Chinese Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) commissioned in 2004.
In Asia, CNNC supplied MNSRs to Iran, Syria and Pakistan in 1990s. In November 2024, Thailand’s Suranaree University of Technology received systems/equipment for their MNSR from CNNC. The construction is underway. In addition, the corporation has established cooperation with more than 60 countries worldwide.
Under the auspices of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing aims to build and finance approximately 30 nuclear reactors in BRI countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa over the next decade. The BRI is a strategic plan composed of six urban development land corridors linked by road, rail, energy, and digital infrastructure and the Maritime Silk Road linked by the development of ports.
It is both a geopolitical and a geoeconomic project and will pave China’s exports of various products, including large-scale nuclear equipment and machinery. “With the help of the BRI, we should actively promote nuclear energy technology and enterprises and promote the ‘going out’ of China’s entire nuclear energy industry chain”, noted Wang Yiren.
China’s nuclear cooperation play
In another drive to expand its international nuclear footprint, China Isotope & Radiation Corporation (CIRC) – subsidiary of China Baoyuan Investment Co., Ltd, a member company of CNNC – has utilised its nuclear medicine and irradiation application technology to cultivate international markets such as those in South Asia and Brazil. In March CIRC signed an equipment supply contract for an irradiation station with a design capacity of 1 million Curies with the owner, the Irradiation Center of Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture. In 2024, the CIRC also won a bid for the project of the Gamma irradiation station with a designed capacity of 1 million curies for the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture. The company has also built four such projects for Malaysia. Upon completion, the irradiation stations will mainly serve to sterilise medical products, which will significantly improve the quality and processing capabilities.
In early 2025, CIRC secured a major medical equipment supply project for nine newly created inter-district emergency centres under Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Health. In June, the parent CNNC signed a letter of intent with a leading Peruvian agricultural company in Lima for the procurement of a gamma irradiation facility dedicated to food processing.
In February, Ling Jing, Vice Chairman of the CAEA and Professor Dr. Supachai Pathumnakul, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation of Thailand, signed a MoU on Cooperation in Peaceful Use of Nuclear Technology. Subsequently, a related delegation from Thailand led by Prof. Dr. Supachai Pathumnakul visited Hainan Nuclear Power Base of China in alignment with the Ministry’s key policy on exploring the potential of SMRs. The study delegates gained practical knowledge of nuclear power plant operations, including fuel loading preparation, reactor system testing, and stringent safety regulations. The two sides will strengthen cooperation in the development and deployment of SMRs, the application of nuclear technology to people’s livelihood, nuclear safety and security, and the training of nuclear professionals.
Earlier, China and Poland signed a MoU to cooperate in the nuclear energy sector. In September, Hungary signed an agreement with China, which represents a significant potential for cooperation between the two countries in the fields of nuclear energy, safety and innovation. Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary said: “The agreement was signed with the CAEA. There are huge players in the nuclear industry both in the East and the West and we cooperate in both directions.”
The competitive landscape
Over recent years some countries have worked to maintain a strategic cooperation balance between both China and Russia, examples include Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Iraq. For instance, Iraq has been engaging with Russia since early 2024 with the aim of signing an agreement to co-develop SMRs at unspecified locations. At the same time, Iraq is partnering with the CAEA to establish a subcritical “training reactor” at al-Tuwaitha nuclear industry complex outside Baghdad.
While South Korea’s KHNP and Russia’s Rosatom are potentially key competitors for CNNC, China and Russia have established a strong strategic partnership. During a visit to Moscow in March 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a long-term strategic cooperation programme in the field of nuclear energy. The agreement, which extends to 2030, includes the development of “fast neutron reactors”.
Rosatom’s General Manager Alexey Likhachev said his company was willing to help China surpass the United States in installed nuclear power capacity and Russia has
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 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.
