Before wrapping up his four-day visit to China on Sept. 3, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with Shen Yanfeng, head of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). This move was widely interpreted as Tashkent exploring alternatives should its tentative nuclear deal with Russia’s Rosatom stall, Eurasianet.org reported.
Russia’s Rosatom is facing financial strain, partly due to sanctions tied to Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Mirziyoyev’s talks in Beijing may have aimed to secure CNNC as a potential fallback partner for building Uzbekistan’s nuclear facilities.
In June, Uzbekistan signed an agreement with Rosatom to conduct a feasibility study for up to four VVER-1000 reactors. Previously, Tashkent had also tapped Rosatom for plans to construct as many as six smaller RITM-200N reactors, each designed to generate 55 megawatts annually.
According to a statement released by Mirziyoyev’s office on Sept. 2, his meeting with Shen centered on cooperation in uranium mining and refining, including technology transfer and geological survey support. The statement also noted that the parties discussed broadening collaboration in the development of peaceful nuclear energy.
Meanwhile, Rosatom is also pursuing a major project in neighboring Kazakhstan. It has been contracted to build the country’s first nuclear power plant on the shores of Lake Balkhash. Although groundbreaking took place in August, questions about financing continue to loom. Those concerns reportedly influenced Astana’s decision to award the contract for a second planned facility to CNNC.
