China's imports of Russian nuclear materials hit record-high in 2022

beijingwalker · Aug 12, 2023

China's imports of Russian nuclear materials hit record-high in 2022

August 12, 2023 (Mainichi Japan)

BEIJING (Kyodo) -- The value of China's imports of Russian nuclear materials for use at power plants hit a record $490 million in 2022, the highest figure since comparable customs data became available in 2015, with the need to fuel a new fast-breeder reactor in southeastern China possibly behind the increase.

The nuclear materials imported from Russia include uranium and plutonium. In the September-December period of 2022, Russia shipped 25 tons of nuclear fuel for the CFR-600 fast reactor, according to data from a British think tank and U.S. media reports.

The CFR-600's two units are expected to begin operation later this year and in 2026, respectively.

Since fast-breeder reactors can produce high-purity plutonium that can be diverted to nuclear weapons through fuel reprocessing, Russia-China cooperation in this area amid Beijing's move to bolster its nuclear arsenal has raised international concerns.

An expert in nuclear power generation said once the CFR-600, located in the Fujian Province county of Xiapu, becomes fully operational, it could produce 200 to 300 kilograms of high-purity plutonium per year -- an amount that could be used to create some 100 to 200 nuclear warheads.

China is projected to increase the number of nuclear warheads in its military stockpile from the current level of about 400 to 1,500 in 2035.

The Royal United Services Institute, the British think tank, has pointed out that Western sanctions on Russia related to its invasion of Ukraine have had a limited impact on its nuclear power industry, enabling Moscow to continue supplying nuclear materials to countries such as Hungary, Turkey and India as well as China.

During a Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, western Japan, in May, leaders expressed worries over China's "accelerating build-up of its nuclear arsenal without transparency nor meaningful dialogue," saying it poses "a concern to global and regional stability."

Yuki Kobayashi, a research fellow at Japan's Sasakawa Peace Foundation, said China stresses the need to generate power through the fast-breeder reactor project as part of its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the lack of transparency in its nuclear policy fuels concerns.

Tatsujiro Suzuki, a Nagasaki University professor well versed in nuclear disarmament, urged Beijing to release information to the International Atomic Energy Agency on how it controls nuclear materials, although as a nuclear power, China is not obliged to report to the IAEA the size of its plutonium stockpile.

The Asian country last did so in 2016.