Nuclear Energy Development in China

The People’s Republic of China is one of the few countries in the world that has a relatively complete nuclear industry. China embarked on nuclear power in the late 1970s, during which time the Chinese government adjusted the strategy on national defence construction and turned their position of combativeness to one of peaceful modernisation and construction. In this context, in March 1981 the State Council made a decision that the nuclear industry should transfer its work focus to the service of the national economy and to improving the lives of its citizens. This transformation of China’s nuclear industry aimed at ‘seeking to develop a diversified energy base’ (Zhou 1987: 43).