Ma Honglin, Secretary General of the China Atomic Energy Authority
April 16, 2003

Distinguished Mr. Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to attend the 36th annual conference of JAIF. I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to talk about issues concerning nuclear energy and environmental protection in our country.

1. The Status Quo and Policies of Nuclear Power Development in China

China’s nuclear industry started in the 1950s, and a preliminary industrial system was completed with 20 years’efforts.

The nuclear industry of China entered a new development stage in the 1980s when the country adopted the policy of reform and opening. It began to directly serve the national economic construction, and nuclear power became one of the most important sectors of the economy. There are so far 11 nuclear power units in China’s mainland, 7 of which are in operation with a total installed capacity of 5400 MW. Nuclear is contributing 1% of the total power generation of the country. China’s nuclear industry has maintained a good record in safe operation and environmental protection. No serious accident has ever occurred.

Under the guideline of “moderate development of nuclear power”, the competent authorities of China is making positive efforts in formulating and implementing development plan for nuclear power to coordinate its development across the country. China’s nuclear power construction will follow the principle of “cooperating with other countries with China playing the major role, introducing technology and promoting localization” and aim at “standardization and self-reliance”. On the basis of absorbing advanced experience from other countries, self-reliance will be achieved in the designing, manufacturing, construction and operation of large-capacity nuclear power reactors. The 1000 MW scale PWR will be the major technical solution in next decade or so.

2. The Development Prospect of Nuclear Power in China

China’s total installed power capacity reached 3380 GW in 2002 and the annual power output and installed capacity is ranked the second in the world. As a great country with a population of 1.3 billion, China is still insufficient in terms of electricity supply with an installed capacity per capita of 0.24 MW, ten times lower than many developed countries. The present energy mix is far from rational with the output of coal accounting for over 65%, petroleum and gas 20%, hydro power 10% and nuclear power around 1%. This coal-overwhelmed energy mix has to be restructured to meet the requirements of environmental protection and sustainable development. It was proposed in the 16th CPC Congress last year that the GDP will redouble by 2020. The power industry needs to grow at an estimated rate of 5% to meet the requirements of the national economic development. The total installed capacity will exceed 8000 GW by 2020. In addition to hydro and wind, nuclear power will take a percentage in the growth as a kind of clean energy. The total installed capacity of nuclear power will reach 30,000 MW if nuclear accounts for 4% of the total by 2020, i.e., about 20 nuclear power units of 1000 MW will be constructed in the future.

3. The Role of Nuclear Power in Environmental Protection and Development

Environmental protection is a challenge facing China and the rest of the world. Environmental issues resulted from uses of fossil fuels has caught increasing attention of the people. People were concerned only by regional environmental pollution such as acid rain before the 1970s, and the climate change caused by such greenhouse gases as CO2 and CH4 has been the focus of the international community since the 1980s.

Along with the rapid economic development in the past two decades, China’s environment issues became sharp. Surveys show that the majority of Chin’s cities suffer from air pollution of different levels, and 30% land are eroded by acid rain. Attaching great importance to the situation, the Chinese government has taken positive measures to reduce environmental pollution. Laws and regulations on environmental protection have been promulgated, including the Law of Environmental Protection, 18 specialized environmental protection rules and more than 400 standards and regulations. Implementing institutions were established to ensure the effectiveness of these laws and regulations.

A proposal was made in the international conference on climate change in Kyodo in December 1997 that the annual greenhouse gases emission of the industrialized countries from 2008 to 2012 should be 6-8% lower than 1990, and the emission level of the developing countries be determined by themselves. China, standing with majority countries of the world, actively responds to this proposal by taking practical measures to contribute to protecting our “globe village”. China has signed international conventions related to environmental protection, including conventions on ozone-layer protection, climate change and biodiversity. In the 2002 Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa, the Chinese Government ratified the Kyodo Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. All these efforts testified the positive attitude of the Chinese Government toward participating in international cooperation on environmental protection to for sustainable economic development of the world.

The Chinese Government holds that nuclear power is a clean energy that does not emit silt, SO2 and NOx that cause acid rain, or greenhouse gases such as CO2. Nuclear energy helps to protect the environment and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. The Chinese Government supports that CDM includes nuclear power. Under the framework of FNCA, China, Japan, ROK, Viet Nam and Indonesia signed the Proposal on Nuclear Energy and Sustainable Development which advocated developing nuclear power as a clean energy of sustainable development. This proposal reflected to some extent the intention of Asian countries on developing nuclear energy.

Mr. Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The limited reserve and rapid consumption of fossil fuels will bring negative effects on the security and development of economy of the international community. We need to explore and use new energy that is safe and clean. Nuclear is one of the important options in terms of reserve and security. China, as a developing country, has to improve its capability in developing nuclear energy and protecting the environment. We wish to cooperate with the rest of the world to make contribution to promoting the environmental protection and sustainable economic development of the world.

Thank you.