Category Archives: Nuclear

China, East Asia, Nuclear, Uncategorized

With Nuclear Energy, China Chooses Dependence Over Independence (Part II of II)

China’s nuclear industry increases dependence on another set of foreign countries due to technology, nuclear safety, and uranium trade.

China is now at a cross-roads that requires it to be increasingly accountable for its energy use, carbon emissions, environmental impact, and public health. Due to this nuclear energy has become one of the lauded fuels of choice for the future. However, if China steps in this direction the country might be dependent on another set of foreign countries, leaving them in another cycle of energy dependence and vulnerability.

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China, East Asia, Nuclear, Uncategorized

China’s Cautious Expansion of Nuclear Power (Part I of II)

China uncharacteristically expands nuclear power at a slower than expected speed due to the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011.

When China opened its economy to the world in the early 1980s, the communist country was heavily reliant on oil and coal. These two fossil fuels were relatively abundant domestically and helped secure China’s national security at a time when the country was cautious of foreign influence. However, this energy policy set the pattern for China’s energy needs over the next three decades despite China’s net importation of oil since the early 1990s and coal in 2009. 

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