China's nuclear exports: Understanding the dynamics between domestic governance reforms and international market competition

Abstract

In the coming decades, China's nuclear energy expansion is expected to account for an increasing share of global nuclear growth. In addition to expanding domestic capacity, China aspires to become the world's important supplier of affordable nuclear reactors. The existing literature has evaluated China's nuclear exports but paid limited attention to the dynamics between domestic governance reforms and the international expansion of its nuclear technologies. Drawing on the policy diffusion literature, this study reevaluates China's nuclear exports by linking the evolution of the domestic governance system with China's changing status in the global nuclear regimes.On the one hand, China's export momentum and increasing engagement with global stakeholders have pushed domestic governance reforms. On the other hand, improved domestic governance helps China earn increasing international recognition, laying a solid foundation for China's nuclear exports in addition to its ambition to exert influence in global nuclear governance. Nevertheless, China's nuclear technologies still face the challenge of finding a market, as China's nuclear exports may only have minor advantages over those of other suppliers in relation to construction time and overnight costs while falling short in terms of financial and business innovations to attract potential buyers. Whether China can sustain its nuclear export momentum hinges on its capacity to further promote technology standardization, enhance safety regulation, encourage financial and business innovations, and push forward deeper-level governance reforms.