This Is How China Builds So Much Nuclear Power | Odd Lots

In the US right now, there is a lot of talk about a so-called "nuclear revival." But it remains to be seen whether we'll see a meaningful uptick in actual power generation, from either new reactors, or old reactors getting a restart. Meanwhile, in China, nuclear construction is full steam ahead. In the last decade, China has built 37 nuclear reactors, and several more are coming down the pipe. So what does it take to build nuclear at scale? On this episode, we speak to David Fishman, a China-based energy analyst at The Lantau Group. He walks us through all the elements of the country's nuclear success, from financing to manufacturing to its domestic power markets. We also discuss what, if any, lessons could be applied elsewhere.

Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway analyze the weird patterns, the complex issues and the newest market crazes. Join the conversation every Monday and Thursday for interviews with the most interesting minds in finance, economics and markets.

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[freespeech]

Y'all missed the point that China runs the whole country as a business, not individual sector. The goal is for the whole country to grow and not to profit from infrastructure. Nuclear and High Speed Rail may lose money but it provides the foundation for the economy to grow. What's lost in infrastructure will be made up in tax revenue from growing economy.

[JA-pnji]

Americans are really puzzled at China's ability to build at scale. Underlying this is their suspicion that Chinese project finance hides inefficiencies. Firstly, project finance is budgetary and schedule based. The Chinese appear to meet project budgets and project completion schedules across a variety of industrial project. For example in high-speed rail - even in Europe, the €4 billion Belgrade to Budapest 350km-long double-track electrified high speed rail being built is within budget and completion schedule.
Chinese SOE's do not pander to the dividend and stock buying demands faced by US companies.

[AustinKelly]

Without scale and political will, all the technology and expertise mean little

[GTFO_]

Overcapacity? National Security Threat??

[chaz]

Jai Hind. Another China overcapacity story or narrative from Bloomberg

[oceanwave]

My observation: China has more and more stuff to offer the world, especially the Global South, in virtually all sectors. In contrast, Germany has fewer and fewer things that the world needs, for example, Zeiss' high-end Lens. Even Siemens' MRI machines for healthcare are now having Chinese alternatives, with much affordable prices.

[bin.s.s.]

31:00 By Li Keqiang index, China's GDP would be much better than the official data.

[ccuntew]

26:20 is a typical question from whom dont know market structure in China and thus try to figure out how Chinese made Pizza using Chinese cookware.

There are two grid operators in China, both of them are fully owned and control by a branch of State Council (SASAC). While without bothering questions from public or congress, State council could allocate budget almost arbitrary (OK bargain chips will occur among senior officials but never through public). So while Chinese decided to move close to green engergy. SASAC just need to instruct mandatory green power quota and bring subsidiary rules to the table, and let grid operate to implement. While grid companies injected hundreds of billions RMB into green energy subsidy, local government also solicited power generation companies (which are also SOEs) to building new green energy projects locally to leverage local GDP growth. And that is how the subsidiary circle worked in the past decade. So in a word, there is no such a thing that private company is subsiding private grid to buy more green energy. All decisions have to be from state policy.

[zhiyucui]

Really impressed by Joe’s mention about Great Leap Forward and appreciate Tracy’s phrase of nuclear muscle memory. To answer the question of whether it is replicable in US, there is a Chinese phrase of “dual rail system” ie SOE and private economies in coexistence. US is a monorail system hard to switch over

[keshavkhanna]

If you build large infra worth in 2 or 3 years and lightning speed and billion +population scale.. it works out in China even if it cannot work in other countries. Because a lot of cost in infra is simply time to build. And china can reduce time to build as it does not have protests, stakeholders consultations etc. Also the American Agitation Industrial complex and state department proxies has been eliminated in China. So it works for them where it would not work in other countries

[jaymacpherson]

Logistics and construction of potentially dangerous facilities are inherently far easier in a country with an authoritarian government with lesser safety standards…that are actually enforced (e.g. some multistory housing in China). This is even easier when that market is contracting elsewhere (e.g. in the US) leading businesses with the intellectual property (e.g. Westinghouse) and essential materials for the final product to accept lower fees to sell to another customer. At this time, China’s nuclear build industry is likely self-sustaining, and still state-owned.

[donkeykong]

US may claim nuclear power overcapacity…lol