Posted on 06/08/2005 11:54:03 AM PDT by Alex Marko
Areva and Alstom have won new deals for the extension of the Ling Ao nuclear power plant in China's southern province of Guangdong. The two French engineering giants have signed contracts worth close to €500 million.
Areva has won two contracts worth a total of almost €400 million to extend Ling Ao nuclear reactor and will supply the primary circuits and safety-related instrumentation and control systems for the third and fourth units (also known as Ling Dong units 1 and 2).
The news comes as Anne Lauvergeon, the French company's executive board chairman, said that China will need to build 20-25 nuclear reactors by 2020 to meet its energy production goals. Lauvergeon said the additional nuclear plants are expected to come online as part of China's plan to boost the sector's share of total energy supply to 4% by 2020, comments echoed by Ma Kai, China's national development and reform commission minister. The news managed to push Areva shares higher.
Meanwhile, French engineering group Alstom has announced that it has won a contract – thought to be worth of the order of €80 million – to supply two steam turbines to Ling Ao together with Chinese partner Dongfeng.
I wonder if this means that the Westinghouse offer is off the table now.
Geesh I wonder if it has anything to do with the French push to end the EU arms embargo against China? Or this some other pay off to the French by the Chinese?
The French are the world leaders in nuclear technology, having focused so tenaciously upon it for 50 years now.
China is already a nuclear power, so this has no proliferation potential.
This is simply an example of the French being very successful in a market niche in which they excel.
Comparable niches are biomedical and pharmaceutical research, commercial rocket launches, chemical engineering and various luxury consumer goods.
Oh, and building really, really huge airplanes.
This is simply an example of the French being very successful in a market niche in which they excel.
Comparable niches are biomedical and pharmaceutical research, commercial rocket launches, chemical engineering and various luxury consumer goods.
Oh, and building really, really huge airplanes.
And selling to murdering tyrants!
Except for the fact that China has been helping Iran, North Korea and was helping Lybia (before it surrendered) with their nuclear programs.
"Except for the fact that China has been helping Iran, North Korea and was helping Lybia (before it surrendered) with their nuclear programs."
No question about that. But China already has the technology of nuclear arms. It is trafficking in its skill in nuclear arms. France is there to build more nuclear reactors in China (the Chinese already have some), because the Chinese government has concluded (correctly) that France can do it better, cheaper and faster than the Chinese themselves can.
French civilian reactors in China are as unrelated to China's nasty tendency to transfer nuclear weapons secrets as American computers in China are.
"And selling to murdering tyrants!"
Like the United States does.
There is no US trade embargo on China, apres tout.
I understand - and I could be wrong - that to make this deal, France confirmed China's sovereign hold over Tawaiin. That bothers me.
But then again, the US recently affirmed that it opposes any unilateral attempt to change the status of Taiwan.
In other words, the US has told Taiwan that if Taiwan declares itself independent of China, and China declares war and invades Taiwan in retaliation, the US has not promised to protect Taiwan.
This US support of the status quo means that the US does not stand for Taiwan's independent sovereignty either. The US position is "This will be need to be worked out over time", with the "this" being that Taiwan is a rebellious province of China which the US does NOT formally recognize as an independent sovereign state.
(SuperFriends cartoon voice narrator) "Meanwhile, back here in the U.S., Democrats, RINOs, and environmentalists continue to block domestic energy production."
We recognize 'one china'--a free china. China will go down, not Taiwan.
Actually high level military meetings between the US and Taiwanese armed forces are common place, as is military drills. Not only that, Taiwan is among the nations that receive the most of our military equipment, only behind Japan, Israel and Egypt (barf).
Just last year SEVEN of our carrier groups parked themselves just off of Taiwan during Summer Pulse 04.
Also the status quo means that we will not tolerate a Chinese attack against Taiwan.
Westinghouse, the French and the Russians are bidding and currently negotiating with the Chinese on four brand new plants. The ones mentioned in this story are not related to that bid evaluation. The winner of the bidding for the four new plants is expected in the Fall 2005.
was the westinghouse offer for this project or for their reactors in other projects?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.