It is hopeful for US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to approve the export of AP-1000 nuclear reactor to China within months' time, said Nils Diaz, chairman of the commission at a press conference held at US Embassy to China on October 20.

Nils Diaz is in China to attend an international conference concerning the security of nuclear equipment held by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Mr. Diaz said that he longed to see a resolution within months on whether to permit exporting nuclear reactors to China and he personally thought that there has been no objection in the commission. He said if China buys that reactor, it will be the first reactor the United States exports to China and also the first of such kind that US operates in the world.

The chairman said the reactor is only for civil use and reiterated its safety. If China decides to buy it, the US government will request to participate in the installment to ensure the safety. On worries about nuclear proliferation, Mr. Diaz said that the US government will put forward concrete measures to guarantee the safety.

China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said at a press conference that China and the United States signed in 1985 intergovernmental agreements on the peaceful application of nuclear energy, which officially took effect in 1998. The two sides completed in 2003 the exchange of notes concerning governmental guarantee for transferring nuclear technologies. China has kicked of tendering for bidding new nuclear proper projects and internationally well-known companies, including those of the United States, have received the tenders. Zhang said that China welcomes active participation in the tendering. As for whether China is to buy the nuclear products from US companies or not, it depends on the tendering and the needs of the Chinese enterprises.

Zhang Huazhu, Director of China Atomic Energy Authority and Deputy Director of State Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, once told the press that China plans to build two to three nuclear power stations on average in the coming 15 years, and raise the proportion of nuclear power to the aggregate from the present 1.7 percent to 4 percent in 2020.

China now has nine nuclear power stations with a total power generation of seven million kilowatts. Foreign media commented that the United States can not bear to be excluded outside the market of several hundred billion US dollars. Now the rivals of US AP1000 in China are mainly those from France, Germany and Russia.

By People's Daily Online