US—China nuclear cooperation

The US and Chinese governments plan to create a center of excellence to promote nuclear security and safeguards in China and throughout Asia. A second new center will focus on radiation detection training for customs officials. Agreements for both centers were signed by representatives of the two governments during Chinese president Hu Jintao’s January visit to Washington, DC.

The nuclear security and safeguards center will be built on the outskirts of Beijing and is intended as a forum for exchanging technical information, sharing practices, and training people in the operation of nuclear facilities and handling of nuclear material. The US will provide nuclear security equipment and expertise. Steven Chu, the US Department of Energy (DOE) secretary, said at the signing that the agreement represents “a major step forward in implementing the global nuclear security outlined by our two presidents at the Nuclear Security Summit last April.”

The radiation detection training center will be in Qinhuangdao, about 300 km east of Beijing.

The centers represent a “vehicle for building a culture of security,” says Damien LaVera, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Agency, a semiautonomous agency within DOE.