(Yicai) March 13 -- China has signed on to the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy, an initiative backed by more than 30 countries, in a move that could open up major opportunities for the overseas development of Chinese nuclear power companies.

Shan Zhongde, director of the China Atomic Energy Authority, announced the news on behalf of China at the second Nuclear Energy Summit held in Paris on March 10.

The core objective of the declaration is to triple global nuclear power capacity by 2050 compared with 2020 levels, helping the world achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century, the nuclear authority said yesterday.

The initiative was launched by 22 countries, including France, the United States and the United Kingdom, during the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference held in 2023.

At this year’s summit, countries such as China, Brazil and Belgium joined the declaration, expanding the number of participating nations to 38.

The global nuclear power landscape is undergoing major changes, with more than 30 countries committing to the pledge to triple nuclear power, according to a recent article by Zeng Yachuan, director of the nuclear power department at the National Energy Administration.

The US has even proposed quadrupling its nuclear capacity, Zeng said. Meanwhile, countries that had previously abandoned nuclear energy, including Germany, are beginning to reconsider their policies. All of this could create new opportunities for China to expand international cooperation and help its nuclear companies expand overseas.

Nuclear energy, as a clean and stable renewable resource, is regarded as a long-term alternative to fossil fuels. However, after the nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, many countries paused or slowed down their nuclear power programs.

China did not approve any new nuclear power projects for eight years after 2011 and only restarted the construction of nuclear power projects in 2019.

In recent years, the country has kept a steady pace of nuclear development, approving 10 units each year from 2022 to 2025, with total investment exceeding CNY800 billion (USD116.2 billion).

As of the end of last year, China had 112 nuclear reactors in operation or under construction, with a total installed capacity of 125 gigawatts, the largest in the world.

Last year, nuclear plants in China generated about 480 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, accounting for 4.8 percent of the country’s total power generation and 2 percent of its overall energy consumption, according to data from the National Energy Administration.

Editor: Kim Taylor