The British government is exploring ways to remove China’s state-owned nuclear energy company, China General Nuclear Corp (CGN, 中國廣核集團), from all future power projects in the UK, in a further sign that relations between the countries are deteriorating.
Projects potentially at risk include the ￡20 billion (US$27.5 billion) Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk and the proposed Bradwell-on-Sea development in neighboring Essex, a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.
CGN is also a 33 percent investor in the Hinkley Point C facility, which is under construction in Somerset and one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the country.
Photo: AP
The move underlines how British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s administration is hardening its stance toward Beijing.
Johnson has blocked Huawei Technologies Co (華為) from participation in the rollout of Britain’s 5G wireless network and earlier this month, the British National Security Adviser opened a probe into the takeover of the country’s biggest chip plant by Chinese-owned Nexperia NV.
“All nuclear projects in the UK are conducted under robust and independent regulation to meet the UK’s rigorous legal, regulatory and national security requirements, ensuring our interests are protected,” a British Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spokesperson said in a statement, when asked about the stance. “Nuclear power has an important role to play in the UK’s low-carbon energy future, as we work towards our world-leading target to eliminate our contribution to climate change by 2050.”
News of the CGN plans was first reported by the Financial Times newspaper late on Sunday.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) yesterday said: “The British should earnestly provide an open, fair and nondiscriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.”
China and Britain are important trade and investment partners for each other, he added.
“It is in the interests of both sides to conduct practical cooperation in the spirit of mutual benefit and a win-win result,” Zhao said.
Members of Johnson’s Conservative Party have repeatedly expressed concern about China’s increasing involvement in critical aspects of UK infrastructure and in its major educational establishments, such as Cambridge University.
Former party leader Iain Duncan Smith has said that Britain should use its post-Brexit status to put human rights at the heart of trade deals.
Nuclear power is set to play a key role in the government’s commitment to slash greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
Although a major investment in offshore wind farms is set to help meet that goal, the country’s transmission network is to rely on nuclear as a backup — nuclear stations are designed to generate energy around the clock, whereas wind power is less predictable.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
CHANGING JAPAN: Nvidia-powered AI services over cellular networks ‘will result in an artificial intelligence grid that runs across Japan,’ Nvidia’s Jensen Huang said Softbank Group Corp would be the first to build a supercomputer with chips using Nvidia Corp’s new Blackwell design, a demonstration of the Japanese company’s ambitions to catch up on artificial intelligence (AI). The group’s telecom unit, Softbank Corp, plans to build Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer to support local services, it said. That computer would be based on Nvidia’s DGX B200 product, which combines computer processors with so-called AI accelerator chips. A follow-up effort will feature Grace Blackwell, a more advanced version, the company said. The announcement indicates that Softbank Group, which until early 2019 owned 4.9 percent of Nvidia, has secured a
CARBON REDUCTION: ‘As a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing, we recognize our mission in environmental protection,’ TSMC executive Y.P. Chyn said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday launched its first zero-waste center in Taichung to repurpose major manufacturing waste, which translates into savings of NT$1.5 billion (US$46 million) in environmental costs a year. The environmental cost savings include a carbon reduction benefit of 40,000 tonnes, equivalent to the carbon offset of over 110 Daan Forest Parks, the chipmaker said. The Taichung Zero Waste Manufacturing Center is part of the chipmaker’s greater efforts to reach its net zero emissions goal in 2050, aligning with the UN’s 12th Sustainable Development Goal. The center could reduce TSMC’s outsourced waste processing
RSS