An expansion of nuclear power capacity will see the contribution of atomic energy to China's energy production double by 2020, although it will still represent just 4% of the country's total energy supply.
Ambassador Song, who heads the Chinese Mission to the EU, said nuclear power occupies an important position in Beijing's current energy strategy and this is expected to grow significantly.
"The Chinese government has established an energy supply strategy which is coal-based and diversified. In this strategy, nuclear power occupies an important position."
"In the future, we will actively promote the construction of nuclear power capacity and gradually increase its share in the total supply of primary energy. Nuclear power will become a key component of the national energy strategy," he said.
The ambassador said China's policy on nuclear power has evolved from "moderate development" to "active development", and then on to "vigorous development".
"In the 21st century, China will be one of the world's fastest-growing nuclear energy producers with the biggest installed capacity. In China's National Nuclear Energy Development Plan (2005-2020), it is stated that, in order to meet the demand of active nuclear development, China's installed capacity of nuclear power is expected to reach 40 million kilowatts in 2020, and its share in total power generation capacity will grow to 4% from less than 2% currently," he said.
China has worked to improve energy efficiency by phasing out ageing power-generation units, according to Ambassador Song, and is investing heavily in green industries. "China is the biggest user of solar panels in the world. Both nuclear energy and methane consumption in the countryside have developed substantially," he added.
Ambassador Song said China is hoping for a successful outcome of the Copenhagen Conference on climate change later this year, but the Chinese will continue to push the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities," which implies that developed countries should bear the greater burden for cutting emissions given that developing countries have not yet done as much damage to the environment.
He also said EU-China relations are now back on track following the postponement of a high-level summit in late 2008, and he revealed that the two sides had agreed to set up an SME Centre in China which will help small European firms to access the Chinese market.
