PARIS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Four decades of nuclear power collaboration remains a noteworthy feature of the France-China relationship and continues to hold potential as the two countries mark the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties.

Nuclear energy cooperation between China and France dates back to the establishment of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant. The power plant in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen had its roots in the early 1980s when China was opening up.

France, which became one of the first major Western countries to recognize the People's Republic of China and whose nuclear industry had been enjoying a golden age since the 1970s, was approached.

"China entrusted France with the responsibility for building the plant, with a guarantee, and EDF undertook to ensure that the plant would be built, which, in 1984, given the international context at the time, was quite a gamble," said Herve Machenaud, former technical director for EDF, France's state-owned electric utility company, from 1984 to 1989 for the construction of China's first nuclear power plant.

"EDF put its trust in China, and China put its trust in EDF, a contract of trust that has kept the parties together for 40 years," he said.

The Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant went into commercial operation in 1995. EDF and its Chinese partner, China General Nuclear Power Group, kicked off another project nearby -- Ling Ao Nuclear Power Plant, which started commercial operation in 2002. In 2008, the two partners set up a joint venture to construct and operate two nuclear reactors based on European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) technology in Taishan, also in Guangdong province.

"We were the teacher, and now the pupil has surpassed the master," said Philippe Taurin, who worked at Daya Bay as a safety adviser from 1993 to 1995 and then at Taishan as deputy general director from 2014 to 2018. "In the nuclear industry, you can't stay at the same level; you have to keep trying to progress, and progress means learning from the experience of others."

After the golden age in the 1970s and 1980s, the French nuclear industry fell victim to its historic success. Over 50 reactors were constructed during that period, ensuring France an ample supply of affordable electricity.

However, the industry has seen a significant decline since then, marked by a scarcity of new reactor constructions and a gradual decrease in the number of skilled professionals over the past decade.

In the 2020s, nuclear power has returned as a necessary part of France's energy mix and a tool to hit carbon reduction targets. This shift was announced by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2021 as part of the "France 2030" investment plan, with the construction of 14 EPR reactors.

Such momentum is manifested throughout Europe, demonstrated by the success of the most recent World Nuclear Exhibition in Paris in November 2023.

Meantime, China has grown to become a significant player in the industry. "After launching 10 new plants in 2022, another 10 were launched in 2023," said Fabrice Fourcade, EDF's current general delegate in China, noting that China's nuclear fleet has become one of the largest in the world.

"Globally, more and more people are realizing that nuclear power is a useful and, in some places, even indispensable tool for decarbonizing our economies and combating climate change. In this context, the nuclear partnership between France and China must continue and be consolidated," Fourcade said.

Felix Torres, a historian specializing in the history of French companies and author of "The Shared Path," a book on the history of EDF in China from 1983 to 2011, also called for "a renewal of France-China cooperation on a large scale."

"Today, the two countries with the biggest construction ambitions are France and China," said Fourcade. "There is a real interest in capitalizing on our 40 years of technological partnership, on the industrial proximity between our nuclear fleet, to ensure the best possible success for new construction programs in France and more widely in Europe." Enditem

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