China on Saturday held its first comprehensive nuclear security emergency drill to test its response mechanism, the latest move by the country to make its nuclear power development safer.
Code-named "Fengbao-2016" or "Storm-2016," the emergency drill was conducted without a preplanned outcome to test the effectiveness of the nuclear security system and the emergency response mechanism, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) said on its official website on Sunday.
It added that the drill has met expectations. SASTIND Deputy Director Wang Yiren oversaw the drill. Wang is also the Vice Chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority. Central and local government officials as well as from the China National Nuclear Corporation attended, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The SASTIND said the drill carried out President Xi Jinping's vision contained in his speech before the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington in April.
Xi said he envisioned the building of a global nuclear security system featuring fairness and win-win cooperation, which would "provide a strong and sustainable institutional guarantee for mankind to benefit from safe nuclear energy."
Stressing that any country determines its own path to developing nuclear energy, Xi said it is responsible for nuclear safety, adding that daily prevention and a crisis response go together, as the threat posed by nuclear terrorism is highly asymmetrical and unpredictable.
Thirty nuclear power plants operate on the Chinese mainland with the capacity to generate 28.31 gigawatts. This is expected to reach 58 gigawatts by 2020.
In January, China published a nuclear white paper assuring the world that China had "the most advanced technology and most stringent standards" to ensure the safe and efficient development of nuclear power.
Under the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), China also vowed to upgrade its ability to ensure nuclear and radiation safety.
