The chief of Russia’s Rosatom state nuclear corporation said on Wednesday, in remarks aired on state television following talks in Beijing, that Russia would assist China in surpassing the United States to become the world’s largest producer of nuclear power.
The United States operates the world’s largest network of nuclear reactors, with nearly 97 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity.
China is racing to build dozens of reactors, though and had 53.2 GW of operating nuclear power reactor capacity as of April 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“China has ambitious plans for the development of atomic energy. The task has been set to catch up and surpass the United States in installed capacity, which means reaching a capacity of more than 100 gigawatts,” Alexei Likhachev, the Rosatom chief, told Russian state television.
Asked by state television if Russia would help China in that target, Likhachev said: “Of course. We will help. We are already helping.”
Russia has already helped build four nuclear reactors in China and is building four more, and China needs a large amount of uranium and nuclear fuel for its ambitious plans, Likhachev said.
As a result, China will need to develop a new generation of closed nuclear fuel cycle reactors based on Russian technology, he said.
Russia Rejects Trump’s ‘Conspiracy’ Claim
The Kremlin stated on Wednesday that Vladimir Putin was not colluding with China’s Xi Jinping and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un against the United States, further suggesting that President Donald Trump might have been speaking with irony in his criticism.
Trump said on Tuesday he was “very disappointed” with Putin, and suggested in a post on Truth Social that Xi, Putin and Kim were conspiring against the United States.
Asked about the Trump remarks by Russian state television, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said that Trump may have been being ironic.
“I would like to say that no one has been conspiring, no one has been plotting anything, no conspiracies,” Ushakov said. “No one even had such a thought – none of these three leaders had such a thought.”
“I can say that everyone understands the role played by the United States, the current administration of President Trump and President Trump personally in the current international situation.”
Xi warned the world was facing a choice between peace or war at a massive military parade in Beijing on Wednesday, flanked by Putin and Kim in an unprecedented show of force.
(With inputs from Reuters)
