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China said Monday that it was willing to engage in international cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, but denied that it had any such dealings with Iran, North Korea or Libya. "The cooperation between CNNC and foreign counterparts is for peaceful uses of nuclear power. We will actively carry out such cooperation," Kang Rixin, general manager of the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), told journalists. "Our international cooperation is for the peaceful use and we strictly follow relevant rules and principles. We have no such cooperation with Iran, North Korea or Libya." China has exported one 300 megawatt nuclear power plant to Pakistan and is building a second one at the Chashma nuclear facility south of Islamabad. Pakistan's top nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who is now under detention, publicly admitted early last year he had passed nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya that could be used to build nuclear weapons. Iran has been subject to more than two years of investigations by the international nuclear watchdog after it emerged the country had been covering up its activities for 18 years. Tehran insists its programs are for producing electricity. Kang said China has also exported several 27 kilowatt neutron reactors under the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency guidelines, but he did not say when or to which countries. China, which is expected to be the fastest growing nuclear energy nation in the world over the next 15 years, has also imported reactors from France, Canada and Russia. China presently has nine nuclear power plants in operation, with two Russian-made reactors expected to go on line by early next year, and eight other reactors already having the central government approval, Kang said. China currently gets some 2.3 percent of its energy from nuclear power plants and is hoping to increase that to 4.0 percent by 2020. All rights reserved. © 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Related Links SpaceWar Search SpaceWar Subscribe To SpaceWar Express 
EU, US Stand Firm On Iran Abandoning Nuclear Fuel Cycle Work: Diplomats
Vienna (AFP) Jun 04, 2005The EU and the United States remain committed to Iran giving up uranium enrichment work that could be used to make atomic weapons and want to clear up any confusion over this with Tehran, diplomats said Saturday. |
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