Under the global "nuclear abandonment" trend, how does China’s nuclear power maintain strategic resolve?

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（Source: Knews—Look at News）

The U.S. and Israel have repeatedly launched attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities and have also assassinated nuclear scientists. Germany and South Korea have successively abandoned nuclear power and shut down and dismantled nuclear plants. In such a complicated and unstable backdrop, China has always adhered to the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Not only has it withstood external political pressure, it has also addressed internal public concerns. Where does this strategic resolve come from? In the episode of “This Is China,” broadcast on March 23, the host He Jie, Director Wang Zhenqing of the China National Nuclear Corporation Strategic Planning Research Institute (CNNC Think Tank), and Professor Zhang Weiyou, Dean of the China Studies Institute at Fudan University, jointly provide an in-depth analysis of global nuclear developments, clearly explaining China’s unwavering stance on developing nuclear power and a path forward for breaking the deadlock.

In the program, the guests first deliver detailed commentary on the Iran nuclear issue that has drawn widespread attention. The U.S. and Israel have long carried out targeted attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities on the pretext of “Iran developing nuclear weapons,” and even openly assassinated nuclear energy researchers in that country—seriously undermining regional peace and the international order. In Director Wang Zhenqing’s view, the peaceful use of nuclear energy is a basic right of every sovereign state, and this has long become a consensus in the international community. As for the U.S. and Israel’s so-called “nuclear threat” justification, it is more a deliberate exaggeration for geopolitical purposes and lacks sufficient, credible factual grounds. More importantly, the UN Charter and relevant regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency clearly stipulate that civilian nuclear facilities are protected by international law during war. Any military attack is a serious violation and should be morally condemned by countries around the world.

Professor Zhang Weiyou further adds the truth behind the strategic game driving the incident. In fact, Iran has already shown great goodwill on the nuclear issue: it pledged to reduce the enrichment level of uranium to below 5% and to maintain that standard for the long term, in exchange for the U.S. fully lifting sanctions. Yet the U.S. carefully orchestrated strategic deception, launching attacks at a critical moment just as negotiations were about to be restarted. It attempted to paralyze Iran’s command-and-control system by targeting key figures in a decapitation strike, and then to install a pro-U.S. regime. This extremely risky action ultimately resulted in a serious strategic misjudgment. It not only failed to achieve the goal of splitting Iran, but instead gave those related events a martyrdom-like tone, greatly rallying public sentiment within Iran and making the entire country even more determined to resist external powerful interference.

As disruptions continue to arise in the international nuclear power arena, there have also been significant fluctuations inside the country’s environment. Germany and South Korea—countries that once relied heavily on nuclear power—have taken steps to abandon nuclear power one after another, shutting down and dismantling large numbers of nuclear power plants. This series of moves has been continuously amplified through public opinion, affecting public perceptions and local decision-making at the psychological level, and also subjecting China’s peaceful use of nuclear energy to considerable public-opinion pressure and external interference. Many people are left wondering: in the dual backdrop of a global nuclear phase-out wave and international pressure by powerful states, does China still need to continue developing nuclear power?

Faced with all kinds of doubts and obstacles, practitioners in China’s nuclear power sector have provided a clear and pragmatic answer. Director Wang Zhenqing said that within the industry, it has never been steered off course by external noise; instead, it has always focused on technological improvement and management optimization. In response to various risk events and safety disputes that have emerged internationally, the nuclear power sector continues to carry out technical improvements, management upgrades, and independent R&D of core technologies. With tangible enhancements in safety performance to solidly build the baseline for nuclear power development, it responds to public concerns with reliable, transparent, and high-standard development outcomes, gradually dispelling public doubts.

Both guests jointly emphasized that developing nuclear energy has never been a purely energy-supply issue; it is a major strategic matter involving national energy security, sustainable development, and international competitiveness. Precisely because it sees through the essence of the matter, China has maintained strategic clarity and strategic resolve along the path of nuclear energy development—neither being confused by international chaos nor being shaken by short-term public opinion. Under the strict premise of complying with international law and international nuclear safety rules, China firmly defends the rights of sovereign states to peaceful use of nuclear energy, and steadily advances the development of an independent nuclear power industry. This not only safeguards national energy security but also demonstrates the responsibility and担当 of a major country. In the midst of a turbulent international nuclear landscape, it has charted a nuclear energy development path for China that is safe, stable, and sustainable.

Editor: Zhou Wenfei

Responsible editor: Zhang Qing