China and France signed nuclear, aviation and other contracts yesterday that officials said were worth around US$30 billion, an amount French President Nicolas Sarkozy called unprecedented.
"The total amount of these contracts has never been matched before," Sarkozy told his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao (
The contracts included an 8 billion euro (US$11.9 billion) deal for the delivery of two third-generation nuclear reactors by French firm Areva, and an agreement worth more than US$17 billion for 160 Airbus planes.
PHOTO: AFP
The total amounts of the deals -- both in industries currently undergoing speedy expansion in China -- were given by Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon and officials involved in the Airbus talks.
The long-anticipated Areva deal will see the French company deliver two European Pressurized water Reactors (EPRs) to China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp (CGNPC).
"It's a record. In the history of the civilian nuclear industry, there's never been a deal of this magnitude," Lauvergeon said ahead of the official signing.
Areva and CGNPC also agreed to set up a company that will operate the two EPRs until 2026, the second agreement said.
In a third deal, CGNPC will take over 35 percent in the operations of three African uranium mines which Areva gained control over this summer after acquiring Canadian uranium producer UraMin.
The Airbus purchase includes 110 planes from the short-haul A320 family and 50 A330 wide-body passenger airliners, a source said.
Ten of the 50 A330s will go to China Southern Airlines which made that part of the deal public late last month.
The deal is welcome news to Airbus, which has struggled with a decline in the US dollar and delays with its A400M military transport aircraft and the A380 superjumbo that has wiped billions of euros off its profit.
The Chinese order stands to push Airbus past Boeing in total orders for commercial aircraft.
Boeing said last week it had received 1,047 commercial airplane orders this year, already beating last year's record-setting total of 1,044 orders. Airbus had logged 1,021 commercial jet orders as of the end of last month, the most recent data available on the company's Web site.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
RSS