By Dominic Swire

 The rapid expansion of China's nuclear energy sector is one of the most ambitious in the world. The country currently has 11 nuclear power reactors in commercial use generating 8.5 gigawatts of electricity. A further 57 plants are planned or already under construction, which should add another 63 gigawatts by 2020, at which point China's nuclear programme is expected to be one of the largest in the world.

However, one challenge for the government is guaranteeing the supply of uranium, a key fuel for generating nuclear energy, as China's domestic supply is fast running dry.

Elaine Wu is a Chinese nuclear analyst at Nomura investment bank.

"Uranium is going to be the key focus for China because China is not endowed with a lot of uranium resources. Currently even at 8 gigawatt capacity, China has to import about half of its uranium needs."

Another incentive for Beijing to import uranium is that of economics. Zha Daojiong from Peking University and a member of the state energy expert commission explains more.

"So far as I know China has indigenous uranium deposits, it's just that the quality of those deposits in a technical sense is fairly low and it is more costly than in most other situations to process such uranium."

In an attempt to address this problem the Chinese government has already made several investments into uranium mines abroad and is currently involved in a bid to gain rights to the Dornod mine in neighboring Mongolia. Ian Hore-Lacy, an expert at the World Nuclear Association in London explains the importance of this bid.
"China is, relative to its nuclear power ambitions, very poor in uranium resources. And therefore to have access to these deposits close to its border is extremely significant."

However, China, through its state-controlled organization CNNC, is up against competition including ARMZ, another state-run outfit from Russia. Some have therefore billed this as a contest between the two global powers vying for influence in the region. While Mongolia was considered to be under Moscow's sphere of influence for much of the last century, this does not necessarily imply that the Russians will win the bid, especially considering China's growth in stature over recent years.

Ian Hore-Lacy again.

"China is just an enormously important economy right next door. Simply because their history lies with Russia doesn't necessarily mean their future lies with Russia."
Whoever gets the rights to the Mongolian mine, it is clear that nuclear power, and the world's thirst for uranium to fuel it, will be with us for a long time to come.