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of the IAEA General Conference
Mr. President,
At the outset, please allow me to read out the message of congratulations from Mr. Li Peng, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, to this session of the General Conference.
The 41st Session of the IAEA General Conference:
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the International Atomic Energy Agency, I would like to extend to the General Conference our congratulations on behalf of the Chinese Government.
In the past 40 years the Agency has done a tremendous amount of work in the fields of promoting the peaceful uses of atomic energy and preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, for which it has received widespread praise from al the Member States. It is my conviction that under the guidance of the principles and objectives enshrined in its Statute, the Agency will be able to play a more active role in promoting the development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy in the years to come.
The Chinese Government will, as always, participate actively in the activities of the Agency and strengthen its friendly cooperation with the Agency and its Member States, so as to make greater contributions to the maintenance of world peace and the promotion of economic development and social progress.
I wish the Conference a complete success.
Mr. President,
Now please allow me, on behalf of the Chinese delegation, to extend to you our congratulations on your election to the Presidency of this Session of the General Conference. I am confident that your rich experience and outstanding diplomatic skills will enable you to fulfill this mission successfully. I would like to take this opportunity to pay our heartfelt respects to Dr. Blix. During his tenure as Director-General, the Agency has achieved well-recognized results in the two areas of promotion and safeguards activities. These achievements and Dr. Blix himself will be recorded in the history book of the Agency. I would like also to extend my congratulations to Mr. Elbaradei on his designation as the new Director-General of the Agency. I trust that under his leadership, the Secretariat will make contributions for the Agency to achieve new results.
Mr. President,
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the International Atomic Energy Agency. In the past 40 years, the Agency has grown to become a big international family of 127 and the most authoritative international organization in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Promoting the contribution of nuclear energy to peace, health and prosperity worldwide is one of the two objectives set forth in the Statute of the Agency. For the past 40 years the Agency has made unremitting efforts towards this end. In every field related to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, especially those of nuclear safety, radiation protection, the management and disposal of radioactive wastes, R&D on advanced reactors, food and agriculture as well as human health, the Agency has done a large amount of fruitful work and achieved notable results by organizing technical cooperation and exchanges through academic meetings, coordinated research, information and advisory services, etc. In recent ten or more years, the Agency has paid special attention to issues of universal concern, such as the environment and sustainable development, providing annually over 80 developing Member States with more than one thousand assistance projects in the forms of expert service, personnel training and equipment supply, etc. for the development of peaceful uses of nuclear energy in these countries. The Agency has also played a unique role in establishing an international legal system as well as standards and norms ensuring the safe use of nuclear energy. Synthesizing the valuable experiences of various countries in the relevant fields, the nuclear safety series, radiation protection standards and radioactive waste safety management, etc., elaborated by the Agency together with other international organizations reflected the international level at that time and had a guiding significance to Member States. In addition, the Agency formulated many international conventions, such as those on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident, Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency, Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage, Nuclear Safety and Radioactive Waste Management, etc. These conventions basically constitute the international nuclear legal system that governs nuclear safety and radioactive waste management.
Another objective set in the Statute of the Agency is to verify that the safeguarded nuclear material by IAEA in Member States is not diverted to military purposes. For this, the Agency has established a complete safeguards system. In recent years, efforts have been made by the Agency in strengthening the effectiveness and improving the efficiency of the safeguards system. The adoption of the Model Protocol Additional to the Safeguards Agreements by the Special Session of the Board of Governors held last May shows that measures taken by the Agency to strengthen safeguards have received widespread support from most of the countries. For the past 20 more years since the NPT entered into force, the number of nuclear weapon states has not increased. This is due certainly to the interaction between various factors, including the balance of international forces, but no doubt, also to the effective role of the safeguards system of the Agency.
Looking back on the past and forward into the future, we should also point out, while affirming the progresses made by the Agency in its forty-year history, that how to keep the balance between two objectives enshrined in the Statute remains one of the issues yet to be properly solved by the Agency. For a long time there has existed a tendency among certain Member States to emphasize only the function of preventing nuclear proliferation, but overlook the other in promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, which is not favorable for the Agency to perform the two major functions set forth in its Statute. The Chinese Government has always maintained that while preventing nuclear proliferation, one should not ignore the legitimate demand of Member States, especially the developing countries for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, restrict or harm, for the reason of preventing nuclear proliferation, their peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology and the development of nuclear energy industry for the peaceful purposes. Adhering to the objectives and principles established in its Statute and maintaining a proper balance between safeguards and promotion activities is the right way to go in the future and the basis of the Agency's existence and development.
Mr. President,
China joined the Agency in 1984. Over the past 14 years, China has established and maintained a good relationship and had fruitful cooperation with the Agency. In the area of promotion activities, China has been consistently supporting the Agency's technical cooperation activities and various programs helpful to the development and applications of nuclear technology. China has also been advocating actively the strengthening of technical assistance to the developing countries and made its own contributions in this regard. In addition to paying its assessed contributions on time and in full, China has always pledged and made full and timely payments to the TACF. In addition to this, China provided the Agency with 1.2 million in extrabudgetary resources in 1995 for the establishment of a radiotherapy and nuclear medical center in Ghana and the project on the Tse-Tse fly eradication in Zanzibar Island, thus making its contributions to the technical cooperation programme of the Agency and the African people. During the past 14 years, the scientific and technical personnel training provided by China for the developing countries and regions totalled about 720 persons. Chinese experts invited to offer technical services and lectures in connection with technical cooperation projects and training courses totalled 270 person-times. In addition to the global technical cooperation program of the Agency, China also supported regional cooperation programs as well, such as the Regional Cooperation Agreement for the Asia and Pacific region (RCA) where China is located. China has actively participated in the RCA programme and hosted many of its activities. China has also supported financially by making donation for its every year since 1989. As a developing country, meanwhile, China also receives assistance from the Agency. The technical cooperation and assistance of the Agency has helped China in strengthening its infrastructure of nuclear industry, training a number of scientific, technical and managerial personnel, enhancing lab R&D capabilities, and particularly, in promoting the development of China's nuclear power industry at its startup stage.
In the safeguards area, China always supports the safeguards activities of the Agency. China signed the voluntary-offer safeguards agreement with the Agency soon after joining it, and subsequently acceded to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and the NPT, displaying China's consistent sincere wish for the maintenance of world peace and stability. In order for the Agency to better perform its safeguards function, China acceded to the universal reporting scheme, and undertakes to report to the Agency on its import and export of nuclear materials, as well as the export of nuclear equipment and non-nuclear materials. China actively took part in the work of the Committee on strengthening the effectiveness and improving the efficiency of the safeguards system from the beginning to the end and made its own contributions. At the special session of the Board of Governors held last May, China declared its acceptance of some of the measures identified in the "Programme 93+2" and committed to negotiate with the Agency to conclude a legally binding document in due course for the implementation of these measures.
Preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and maintaining world peace are important parts of China's independent peaceful foreign policy. China does not advocate, encourage or engage in the proliferation of nuclear weapons, nor does it help other countries to develop such weapons. China provides no assistance to unsafeguarded nuclear facilities of other countries and exercises strict control and approval over concrete items of nuclear export in keeping with generally accepted international guidelines and control lists and adhering to the three basic principles: 1) only for peaceful purposes; 2) accepting IAEA safeguards; 3) no retransfer to any third country without the prior consent from China. For years, China has established a relatively complete nuclear export control system in the past years, which has proved to be strict and effective. Nevertheless, in order to further enhance the transparency and effectiveness of the regime, China has promulgated the Nuclear Export Control Regulation and has decided to join the Zangger Committee.
Mr. President,
The Chinese Government attaches great importance to the development of nuclear power. In his article titled China's Energy Policy published last June, Premier Li Peng of China's State Council elaborated China's policy on nuclear power development and affirmed its important position in the country's energy structure as a safe, reliable and clean source of energy.
At present, there are three nuclear generating reactors in operation in China, among which the 300 MW Qinshan Phase 1 nuclear power plant designed and constructed by China itself has been operating well since its began to generate power in 1991. In 1996, the availability factor reached 84.7%. Since operation started, releases of radioactive substance from the Qinshan nuclear power plant have been far below the limit set by the state and met the advanced international standard without increasing the radioactive level in its surroundings. The operation of Qinshan nuclear power plant for the past years has demonstrated that the design and construction quality of major equipment, such as domestically fabricated nuclear fuel elements, reactor and turbine-generators are reliable. China has fully mastered the techniques for the design, construction and operation of 300 MW nuclear power plant. During the Agency's OSART missions to Daya Bay nuclear power plant and Qinshan nuclear power plant in Oct. 1996 and Jan. 1997 respectively, the Agency-invited experts fully approved the safety of these plants and also made some valuable recommendations and suggestions, which are of good reference to the future development of China' s nuclear power.
Four nuclear power plants, with a total of eight units are currently under construction or being planned in China. The 2x600 MW Qinshan Phase II nuclear power project has been under construction since June 1996. Qinshan Phase III comprises two 700 MW Candu Type 6 heavy water reactors imported from Canada. The commercial contract for this project entered into force last February and the project is presently at the preparatory stage. Last May construction started on the mainbody of the 2x1000 MW Ling'ao nuclear power plant about one kilometer away from the Daya Bay power plant in Guang Dong Province and is planned for completion in March of 2003. Furthermore, China plans to build another nuclear power plant with 2x1000 MW VVER improved type Pressurized Water Reactors in Lian Yun Gang, Jiang Su Province. The related commercial negotiations with Russia have been proceeding smoothly.
With the rapid development of China's economy, demand for energy increases continuously. As a result, nuclear energy is expected to have a considerable development as an alternative energy source in the country. According to prediction by departments concerned in China, the total installed capacity of nuclear power in operation would reach 20,000 MW by the year 2010, and exceed 40,000 MW by 2020. China will represent vast market for nuclear power. While developing nuclear power with our own efforts at home, we are willing to develop technical cooperation and commercial transactions with advanced countries in this area under the principle of equality and mutual benefit.
Mr. President,
The Diplomatic Conference which concluded shortly before, considered and adopted the "Protocol to Amend the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage" and the "Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage". These two conventions are conducive to public acceptance of nuclear energy, and therefore, would have a positive effect on the development of peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The Chinese delegation participated in the discussions on these two conventions and put forward our views and proposals. Regarding the "Protocol to Amend the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage" and the "Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage", it is our view that the amount of compensation for nuclear damage caused by every single nuclear incident, as identified in the Convention, is too high to attract more countries to accept them. Although China can not, for the time being, accede to the two Conventions, this does not affect in any way the importance we attach to nuclear liability. In fact, as early as 1986 the Chinese Government already established the basic principles and promulgated regulations in this regard, thus providing the basic guarantee for our nuclear cooperation with other countries.
With regard to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, it is well known that China has always taken a positive attitude towards the conclusion of the Convention. We are of the view that this Convention is of positive significance to raising the safety level of spent fuel and radioactive waste management, and is a matter concerning and protecting the human health and safety. Therefore, during the three-year-long drafting and negotiating of the convention, the Chinese expert delegation participated very actively from the beginning to the end and made valuable contributions to the conclusion of the convention. However, it is regrettable that the failure of the Convention to regulate transboundary movements between a contracting party and a non-state entity is not only harmful to the sovereignty and safety of countries concerned, but also detrimental to the prevention of nuclear proliferation and the integrity of the Convention. Now I wish to inform the General Conference that the Chinese Government has decided not to sign the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and Safety of Radioactive Wastes Management.
Mr. President,
In the past year, the Agency has continued its efforts and made considerable progress in extending model project concepts, setting up the country program framework and thematic planning, as well as integrated evaluation framework. These new measures to strengthen technical cooperation have become the framework of the Agency's new strategy for technical cooperation, which is of positive significance to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of technical cooperation. In recent years, notable results have been produced by implementation of some model projects in the fields of nuclear medicine, nuclear agriculture, isotope hydrology, nuclear and radiation safety, etc., bringing benefits to some developing countries and laying a foundation for the new strategy for technical cooperation. Yet the task of realizing the new strategy is far from being accomplished. With demand for technical cooperation and assistance from vast numbers of developing countries constantly increasing, there is a pressing need to accelerate the industrialization of the nuclear technology applications so that nuclear technology may play a greater role in the national economic development. We hope therefore, that the Agency's Secretariat and Member States will make a joint effort to bring the series of reform measures already taken further and achieve even better practical results. We also hope the SAGTAC will listen more to the developing Member States, know more about their needs and make suggestions on strengthening technical cooperation.
Mr. President,
With the Twentieth century fast coming to a close and the Twenty-first Century dawning on us, how to do the Agency's work well in these closing years is an issue that concerns what kind of Agency we shall bring into the new millenium. It is our belief that so long as the purposes and principles envisaged in the Statute are adhered to, a balance is maintained between promotion and safeguards activities, and with the joint efforts of all Member States, our future will be better and brighter.
Thank you, Mr. President.
This
material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin
Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of
International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the
opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or
its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by
MIIS.
