China to Sell Outdated Nuclear Reactors to Pakistan

Source: Voice of America

China is pressing ahead with nuclear energy cooperation with Pakistan, despite concerns that it is shipping decades-old technology to its South Asian neighbor. This comes as China suspended approvals for new nuclear power plants within China to review safety standards following the recent earthquake/tsunami disaster in Japan.

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But when Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu was asked Thursday about whether Beijing is similarly concerned about exporting outdated nuclear technology to Pakistan, she dismissed it as unrelated.

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Mark Hibbs, an atomic energy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has closely followed the Chinese-Pakistani nuclear cooperation. He says China has been developing its own nuclear technology, but that it is outdated.

"So far most of the reactors that the Chinese themselves have built on the basis of their own know-how reflects a technology which was available in the West and in advanced nuclear countries outside of China about 30 years ago," he said. "The Chinese are exporting this equipment - this is the technology which China has been exporting to Pakistan. I don’t believe right now that there is a major world market outside of Pakistan which is very interested in this technology."

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Read more: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/China-to-Sell-Outdated-Nuclear-Reactors-to-Pakistan-118572049.html

:eyes: anything for a buck.

This reeks like a trailer load of lobster bait. In July. After a long weekend.

Yeah, that's the ticket - we'll take our oldest, crappiest, made from worst steel reactors. The ones where the steel is already near exposure limits.. And then we'll sell em'! (Makes 'em all new again, don't it?) To those wild and crazy Pakis - you know, where the secret police fights with the Taliban and/or the Army, dependin' on who they think is watchin'?

the most dumb-assed move ever. Unless of course they are trying to find out how much the rest of the World will pay to see it not happen. In which case they must have been taking lessons from the Somali pirates (who are probably getting advice from western bankers).

If we end up buying some of them. Just think of the savings. :sarcasm:

this possible junk is being bought and paid for with US aid money...cause the Pakis' sure don't have any to spare. India won't like this and neither will Iran.

The Pakistanis could then, at their option, sell this stuff to anyone with money.