Britain, one of the world’s most powerful countries, is also seen to be trapped in the clutches of China. The surprising thing is that Britain is so much dependent on China for its nuclear infrastructure that it has now been forced to think. The United Kingdom has realized its increasing dependence on Beijing for the development of new nuclear power projects. This is the reason that the country has recently started taking necessary action to save the strategic sector from coming into Chinese hands. It has been said in a media report.
Strategic analyst Di Valerio Fabbri, writing in Geopolitica.info, said the UK government is reportedly working on a deal aimed at removing China from a £20 billion project to build a nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast. Britain’s Sizewell C power station project is currently in the planning and development phase. But it is owned by the French state-backed power company EDF, which holds 80 percent in it, and the remaining 20 percent with China General Nuclear (CGN).
The report said the UK government is now planning to partner with EDF to acquire a stake in the project, which will result in the removal of Chinese company CGN from the project. Existing nuclear facilities in the UK are owned by British energy companies Centrica and EDF.
The company has had to close several plants prematurely and four of the seven stations are due to close by March 2024. As a result, in recent years there has been an emphasis on building more nuclear power plants. The urgency has proved to be favorable enough for China to enter the UK on a large scale, the report said.
A nuclear deal signed during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to London in 2015 paved the way for China’s future dominance in Britain’s nuclear industry. Under the deal, China received money for the Hinckley and Sizewell nuclear power projects, and then installed its own reactors at a third site at Bradwell in Essex.
However, what stock analysts feared was a waiver in the deal to allow China to install its own designs at a site about 50 miles from London. But now Britain is taking a step by step and is working to isolate China from its nuclear sector.