By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-03-10 05:51:28 | Updated at 2025-03-10 09:46:18
3 hours ago
Beijing has set an ambitious target for the expansion of commercial applications for its nuclear technology in a variety of industries, projecting an annual economic output of 400 billion yuan (US$55.25 billion) by 2026.
The benchmark – revealed by Li Song, China’s permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – would mean a large increase over the next two years, since the figure was around 240 billion yuan in 2023.
Areas of focus for the technology would be in medical treatment, agriculture, food processing and material modification, Li said at a meeting of the IAEA’s board of governors in Vienna, Austria on Thursday.
China will also strengthen its cooperation with IAEA to harvest atomic energy for the benefit of the Global South, he added.
The use of nuclear technology to boost economic growth was also emphasised by deputies during the “two sessions,” the annual meetings of China’s top legislature and advisory bodies.
Han Yongjiang, deputy chief economist of China National Nuclear Corporation and a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference advisory body, pledged to strengthen the integration of nuclear technology into various sectors of the national economy, state-owned financial newspaper Securities Daily reported on Friday.
“While China’s nuclear technology industry is growing rapidly, it still lags behind developed countries in terms of industrial scale. Further improvements are needed in industrial policies and independent innovation capabilities,” he was quoted as saying.
