China suspended approvals for new nuclear power plants yesterday and ordered comprehensive checks of existing facilities to close safety loopholes amid growing concern stoked by Japan's unfolding crisis.
In a surprise move, the State Council also announced that it would review and adjust its ambitious plan to expand the nuclear power sector by 2020, which Beijing hopes will help reduce the country's reliance on coal and cut emissions of greenhouse gases.
For the past few days, as Japan's nuclear crisis worsened in the wake of Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami, senior mainland energy officials had insisted that Beijing would stick to its nuclear expansion plan.
Interestingly, yesterday's State Council statement did not mention Beijing's ambition to boost its nuclear power sector in the next five years, with at least 34 new plants planned and approved by the central government and 25 being built.
Beijing plans to build nuclear plants with a total installed capacity of 40,000 megawatts by 2015 as part of its plan to significantly increase the share of non-fossil fuels in its energy mix.
Any slowdown in China's rapid nuclear expansion would be a radical departure from longstanding policy, but even a temporary suspension shows the authorities are sensitive to public fears about the threat of nuclear accidents.