BRI vs. SCO: Institutionalising China's Nuclear Market Ambitions (original) (raw)
Atomic Belt and Road: China's International Nuclear Market Entry
Atomic Belt and Road: China's International Nuclear Market Entry, 2022
Rapid development of China's internal nuclear market, together with its rise on the international arena and the declared transition to green economy, gave a crucial impetus to its aspirations to enter the international atomic market as a global exporter of nuclear technology. The aim of this article is to define the political and ideological foundations underpinning such an ambitious endeavor, as well as predict the related development in the short and mid-term perspective. The author utilizes both general scientific methods as well as statistical and comparative analysis to single out the directions of China's nuclear market outreach, both regionally and globally. Pakistan, widely presented as a flagship example of China's exporting its know-how in nuclear engineering, remains the only partner of a kind in the broader Asia-Pacific. This article demonstrates that Belt and Road Initiative (specifically, the Green Silk Road), out of all multiple formats, was arguably chosen by the Chinese government as the most suitable framework for expanding its influence in the nuclear domain and filling a certain gap which formed after Westinghouse and Areva (now Orano) got reorganised after encountering financial problems. At the same time, China's bid for leadership in the sphere of nuclear technology is obstructed by some impediments. Among them are Russia's dominance in breakthrough areas of nuclear engineering and Rosatom's large market share, as well as lack of political will in some countries' elites to build ties with China in this strategic realm, opting for competition instead.
Energy
China has ambitious plans to expand its nuclear power capacity. One of the policy goals that high-level policymakers have desired is to base the nuclear program on a standardized reactor design. However, this has not materialized so far. By examining its nuclear reactor choices for individual projects, we argue that China’s policymaking process has been greatly influenced by international competition and domestic politics. Multiple international nuclear vendors are intent upon maintaining their respective niches in the expanding Chinese reactor market, and they have used various forms of economic and political pressure to achieve their objectives. On the other hand, China’s policymaking process is fragmented and the shifting power balances among powerful domestic actors do not allow a fixed path to be followed. Further, because of the high costs and potential profits involved, nuclear reactor choices in China have been driven not just by technical considerations but also by foreign and trade policy objectives. All of these make it unlikely that China will standardize the reactor type it constructs in the near future.► China’s nuclear power policymaking has been fragmented and without central control. ► Multiple domestic actors have pursued independent agendas. ► International nuclear vendors have intensely competed for Chinese reactor contracts. ► Economic, political and foreign policy goals have driven reactor contract decisions. ► China is unlikely to construct only a standardized reactor design.
China's Long-Term Nuclear Power Programme. The Main Imperatives For Change.
2016
Atomic energy has long been a controversial topic among politicians, clean energy advocates and citizens alike. The outright benefits of such technology include a clean, efficient and reliable source of energy, which could potentially offer a stable electricity supply at affordable prices. The stigma of nuclear energy, on the other hand, relates to the possibility of negative externalisation or catastrophic environmental effect. Atomic energy is, nevertheless, the future of “a critical part of today’s energy mix, and will play an even larger role in the future to satisfy global demand for energy” according to Westinghouse CEO Danny Roderick. For China, however, nuclear energy is a necessity positively inclined with the need for change in specific areas. The aim of this research project is to answer, to the best of its ability, the following research question: What are the main imperatives for change fuelling China’s nuclear energy programme?
The sources of divergent practices in China's nuclear power sector
Energy Policy, 2012
Unlike markets that were early developers of reactors, which are dominated by single technologies, China's nuclear power sector adopts and imports multiple technologies. Even after the Chinese government introduced a policy to develop a standardized, unified, and technologically advanced nuclear power sector in the early 2000s, different technologies continue to be imported. This study uses an institutional lens to explore the decoupling of policy intentions and implementation. The three phases of nuclear technology imports that occurred between the 1980s and 2010 are examined and compared. Data are collected from multiple sources, including the diary of a major decision-maker, news articles, project websites, a regulation database, domestic journal articles, and interviews with industry experts. Using interactive content analysis, this study identifies the multiple policy principles and goals of different domains that led to different import arrangements and interpretations of the available foreign technology. New arrangements do not replace but overlap the existing ones that are perpetuated by the actors who benefit from them. The results show that the multiplicity of China's nuclear power sector, coupled with the government's late attempts at standardization, contributes to diversified policy implementation. They provide important policy implications for the sustainable development of the sector.
China's Renewable and Nuclear Energy Agenda: A Geopolitical Strategy?
2017
This study was performed using reports, news articles, peer-reviewed journals, and publications by government agencies. A hypothesis was formed using skills and knowledge gained throughout the Energy Policy and Climate Program. The goal was to gather relevant, pertinent, applicable data to analyze in order to produce an answer to the hypothesis. Results China is far outpacing the United States in production of renewable and nuclear energy. This production drive is due to current and future threats China faces from a changing climate. The United States has limited ability to compete with China's growing energy markets. China's nuclear energy production creates a geopolitical threat through its ability to control foreign energy markets.
Chinese Pursuit of Energy Security via Partnerships’ Development within the SCO Mechanism
2023
This paper aims to examine the impact of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on China's pursuit of energy security. As the first multilateral cooperation mechanism is initiated by China, the SCO is guided by Chinese values and emphasizes the development of partnerships instead of alliances. The research question focuses on whether the SCO and its Energy Club operate as a multilateral mechanism when it comes to energy cooperation or if bilateral arrangements are needed for China to secure its energy needs. The paper will explore the energy potential offered by the SCO, particularly since Iran became a full member state and Qatar and Saudi Arabia became dialogue partners. It will also examine to what extent the SCO helps China in making "Petro Yuan" and how it impacts China's energy security from both continental and maritime aspects. The authors will use descriptive statistics and content qualitative analysis to evaluate the results within the SCO regarding energy security, as well as a literature review in the field of energy security and diplomacy, with a specific focus on bi-multilateralism. The paper's contributions will include recommendations for a better understanding of energy security issues within the scope of Chinese instigated mechanisms of cooperation and diversification of sources and cooperation that brings new geopolitical and geoeconomic "question marks".
The role of nuclear in China's energy future: Insights from integrated assessment
Energy Policy, 2020
China, the world's largest electricity consumer, has strong motivations to deploy nuclear power due to increasing electricity demand and environmental concerns. However, there are social, institutional, and technical barriers to future nuclear expansion. This paper provides an updated assessment of nuclear energy potential in China with analyses at both national and provincial levels and compares results with previous studies. It integrates unit-level information into integrated assessment modelling and scenarios and considers the interactions among different socioeconomic pathways, technology options, climate policies, and social/political concerns on inland siting. Among all factors explored, climate policies have the most significant impact on accelerating nuclear technology deployment. Inland siting of nuclear power plants increases total capacity, but the impact is limited without climate policy. The share of annual nuclear generation across scenarios/studies is unlikely to rise above 11% by 2030 and 30% by 2050 of total Chinese electricity generation. A dramatic increase in total nuclear power generation in Chinaaround 4000 TWh of nuclear generation by 2050-is only possible in scenarios where China sees electricity demand increase substantially, sticks to and tightens its current Paris Accord commitments, achieves low costs of nuclear technologies, and allows inland siting of nuclear power plants.
The socio-political economy of nuclear energy in China and India
This article investigates forms of social, political, and economic organization conducive to nuclear power expansion. We begin by developing a theoretical framework of nuclear socio-political economy based primarily upon the evolution of nuclear energy in France. This framework posits that (1) strong state involvement in guiding economic development, (2) centralization of national energy planning, (3) campaigns to link technological progress to a national revitalization, (4) influence of technocratic ideology on policy decisions, (5) subordination of challenges to political authority, and (6) low levels of civic activism are influential factors in supporting development of nuclear power. Accordingly, we seek to verify the causal properties of these six catalysts for nuclear power expansion in two nations e India and China e that are on the brink of becoming major nuclear powers. We validate our framework by confirming the presence of the six catalysts during the initial nuclear power developmental periods in each country. We also apply our framework as a predictive tool by considering how present conditions in the two nations will impact nuclear power development trends. We conclude by highlighting the emergence of a potential seventh catalyst e the influence of greenhouse gas emission abatement policy on nuclear power development.
World nuclear energy development trends and Russia’s competitiveness at the global nuclear market
Proceedings of the Third International Economic Symposium (IES 2018), 2019
The paper is dealing with the world nuclear energy development trends and Russia's competitiveness at the global nuclear market. The problems of energy supply and energy security are among the most urgent in the modern world economy. The modern nuclear market consists of the natural uranium market, uranium conversion and enrichment services, nuclear fuel, the nuclear power engineering market, the electricity and capacity market, the market nuclear power plants construction and service. At all those specific markets Russia is competing with the number of developed nations and China. The regional development global nuclear market is based on diversification. Many new real and potential importers are emerging in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Russia needs a whole range of measures to strengthen its competitiveness, production and processing of nuclear fuel, nuclear technology, training highly skilled personnel. The authors are evaluating the level of Russian nuclear energy industry and its major company "Rosatom" competitiveness.