China builds community of shared future for nuclear safety: white paper

China advocates the development of an international nuclear safety system characterized by fairness, cooperation, and mutual benefit, facilitates global effort on nuclear safety governance through fair and pragmatic cooperation, and works with the rest of the world to build a community of shared future for global nuclear safety, according to a white paper released on Tuesday.

The white paper titled "Nuclear Safety in China" said that China has faithfully fulfilled its international obligations and political commitments, upheld multilateral efforts to strengthen nuclear safety and strengthened international exchanges and cooperation on nuclear safety.

China has ratified all international legal instruments in the field of nuclear safety, strictly implemented UN Security Council resolutions, supported and participated in international initiatives on nuclear safety and faithfully fulfilled its duties as a signatory of the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident, the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency, the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, the Convention on Nuclear Safety, the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, and the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, it said.

China has actively participated in the formulation and implementation of the Vienna Declaration on Nuclear Safety, and Chinese representatives chaired the Fifth Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties (2011) and the Second Extraordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties (2012) to the Convention on Nuclear Safety, contributing to global governance on nuclear safety.

China upholds the central role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in international cooperation on nuclear safety, has provided all-round support to the IAEA, including political, technical and financial support, and makes continuous contributions to the IAEA Nuclear Security Fund, with a view to enhancing the nuclear security capacity of countries in Asia, the white paper said.

To strengthen international non-proliferation cooperation, China has joined the Zangger Committee, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, and other multilateral mechanisms and international organizations.

It has enacted the Regulations on Nuclear Export Control and the Regulations on the Export Control of Dual-Use Nuclear Items and Technologies, and released the Nuclear Export Control List and the Export Control List of Dual-Use Nuclear Items and Technologies.

China has expanded international cooperation in the fight against nuclear terrorism, and works closely with such international organizations and multilateral mechanisms as the International Criminal Police Organization, the Nuclear Security Contact Group, and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, it said.

China attaches great importance to nuclear safety policy exchanges and cooperation between countries. It maintains close contacts with France, the United States, Russia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and other countries, as well as emerging nuclear energy countries along the Belt and Road, and has signed more than 50 cooperation agreements on nuclear safety to facilitate all-round cooperation in exchange of high-level visits, communication between experts, review, consultation, and joint research.

China and the United States have established an annual dialogue mechanism on nuclear safety, a Nuclear Security Center of Excellence, and the China Customs Radiation Detection Training Center. Chinese and Russian customs have held joint exercises to prevent illicit trafficking of nuclear and other radioactive materials.

China, Japan and the ROK arrange meetings between regulators to share their experiences in nuclear safety regulation. China has strengthened exchanges and cooperation with the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union, WANO, and other international organizations.

It is an active participant in international peer reviews of nuclear safety directed to common progress against global standards, it said.

In order to expand participation in global cooperation platforms and enhance its nuclear safety capabilities, China continues to take part in activities under the frameworks of the Global Nuclear Safety and Security Network and the Asian Nuclear Safety Network.

China contributes its wisdom and strength to the world by promoting its nuclear safety regulatory system and sharing advanced technology, experience, resources, and platforms.

It has taken part in the Multinational Design Evaluation Program for nuclear power plants, and a working group on the Hualong-1 has been established.

Through its National Research and Development Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety Regulation, China has continued to help developing countries to train nuclear safety personnel and carry out technical drills, lending support to their efforts to enhance their regulatory capacity and providing more public goods for improving global nuclear safety, it said.