Choosing a standard reactor: International competition and domestic politics in Chinese nuclear policy

China has ambitious plans to expand its nuclear power capacity. One of the policy goals that high-level policymakers have desired is to base the nuclear program on a standardized reactor design. However, this has not materialized so far. By examining its nuclear reactor choices for individual projects, we argue that China’s policymaking process has been greatly influenced by international competition and domestic politics. Multiple international nuclear vendors are intent upon maintaining their respective niches in the expanding Chinese reactor market, and they have used various forms of economic and political pressure to achieve their objectives. On the other hand, China’s policymaking process is fragmented and the shifting power balances among powerful domestic actors do not allow a fixed path to be followed. Further, because of the high costs and potential profits involved, nuclear reactor choices in China have been driven not just by technical considerations but also by foreign and trade policy objectives. All of these make it unlikely that China will standardize the reactor type it constructs in the near future.

► China’s nuclear power policymaking has been fragmented and without central control.
► Multiple domestic actors have pursued independent agendas.
► International nuclear vendors have intensely competed for Chinese reactor contracts.
► Economic, political and foreign policy goals have driven reactor contract decisions.
► China is unlikely to construct only a standardized reactor design.