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Russian, Chinese Leaders To Attend Ceremony To Build Nuclear Energy Project
19 May 2021
EIRNS—Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the May 19 online ceremony to launch construction of the Russian-Chinese nuclear energy project, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Tuesday. “President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin will attend on May 19 the online ceremony of starting construction of power units No. 7 and 8 of the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant, a joint Russian-Chinese project. Rosatom is designing the nuclear island of the power plant and delivering the key equipment of the nuclear island for both units. When completed, this will be the largest nuclear facility in the world, with an 8,100-MW capacity. As has been pointed out in the Chinese media, this event takes place just before the first face-to-face meetings between the U.S. and Russian Foreign Ministers in Reykjavik, underlining that Russia is not alone in facing Biden’s “alliance of democracies.” Commenting on the event at today’s brief, Foreign Minister Spokesman Zhao Lijian said: " This year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Sino-Russian Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation. This event is the first bilateral online exchange between President Xi Jinping and President Putin this year, and is of great significance to leading the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between China and Russia in the new era to maintain a high level of development. Nuclear energy cooperation is a traditional priority area of cooperation between China and Russia. It has developed rapidly in recent years and has attracted great attention from the heads of state of the two countries. In June 2018, under the witness of President Xi Jinping and President Putin, the two sides signed a package of cooperation agreements in the nuclear field and agreed to cooperate in the construction of Units 7 and 8 of the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant and Units 3 and 4 of the Xudabao Nuclear Power Plant. This is the largest nuclear energy cooperation project between China and Russia to date, and represents a high level of practical cooperation between the two countries. The smooth commencement of the four units not only demonstrated the significant achievements of China-Russia cooperation in the fields of high-end equipment manufacturing and technological innovation, but also promoted the quality and upgrading of practical cooperation between the two sides in various fields. In addition, he said, nuclear energy is clean and efficient. The completion of the four units will effectively reduce carbon dioxide emissions. This not only embodies China’s firm determination to achieve the goal of “carbon peak” and “carbon neutrality”, but also demonstrates China’s strong responsibility as a responsible major country. [dea,wcj] See World Nuclear Association: Nuclear Power in Russia |