Robert Gates tours China nuclear warfare headquarters

Robert Gates in China

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has visited China's nuclear warfare headquarters, at the end of a four-day visit to try to mend relations between the two militaries. 

"There was a discussion of nuclear strategy," including China's policy of not using nuclear weapons pre-emptively, Mr Gates said.

Officials from both countries praised the visit as a success. Beijing froze military ties last year because of a US arms sales to Taiwan.

The rare view of China's nuclear and missile arsenal was given on a trip to the Second Artillery Corps of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) headquarters.

Both the US and China have long-range missiles capable of reaching each other's shores, but both have said they do not intend to use them. More >>>

China Should Control Pace of Reactor Construction, Outlook Says

China must avoid building too many nuclear power reactors too quickly, the research unit of the State Council, or Cabinet, wrote in Outlook Weekly. 

The country should set a 2020 ceiling on reactors in operation at 70,000 megawatts to avoid a shortfall of fuel, equipment and qualified plant workers, the government-controlled unit said in a commentary in the weekly magazine published by the official Xinhua News Agency.

China is increasing the share of non-fossils fuels in its energy mix to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The country had 9,080 megawatts of nuclear capacity in operation as of 2009 and 21,920 megawatts under construction, the China Electricity Council says.

To lower safety risks, China should focus on developing reactors based on the third-generation AP1000 design instead of older, second-generation technology, according to the commentary. The AP 1000 reactor is manufactured by Westinghouse Electric Co., a unit of Toshiba Corp. More >>>