China Russia Photo: VCG

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin witnessed via a video link the groundbreaking ceremony of four advanced nuclear reactors powered by Russia’s third-generation nuclear technology in China on Wednesday.

Observers said on Wednesday that the beginning of construction on the four new nuclear reactors, the biggest China-Russia nuclear energy cooperation project to date, marked a milestone in China-Russia nuclear energy cooperation and was a further proof that the two countries are moving closer in the face of escalating US sanctions and restrictions.

The four nuclear generating units – two at Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant in East China's Jiangsu Province and two at Xudapu Nuclear Plant in Northeast China's Liaoning – have a reported combined power generation output of 37.6 billion kilowatthours a year upon completion, reducing carbon emissions 30.68 million tons.

In 2020, nuclear energy power generation accounted for 4.9 percent of China's total power generation.

The event on Wednesday also saw China’s fleet of nuclear power reactors approved for or under construction, the world’s largest, increasing to 23 from 19.

The successful beginning of the construction of the four units demonstrated the major cooperation outcomes in high-end equipment manufacturing and science and technology innovation, and will help promote and upgrade bilateral cooperation in various sectors, Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

China-Russia energy cooperation and energy trade are expected to provide more impetus to the two countries' goal to further increase their bilateral trade. China and Russia have set a goal to lift bilateral trade volume to $200 billion by 2024.

Trade between China and Russia has returned to positive growth in the first four months of this year despite the negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, with January-to-April trade reaching $40.21 billion, a year-on-year increase of 19.8 percent, China's Ministry of Commerce said last week.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin witnessed together the groundbreaking ceremony of bilateral nuclear energy cooperation via video link on Wed. Check out the infographic for highlights of China-Russia energy cooperation. Graphic: Feng Qingyin, Tu Jiayu(intern)/GT