China's power giants agree on nuclear emergency response

Five major companies in China's nuclear sector agreed on Monday to cooperate in nuclear emergency response and rescue amid efforts to upgrade nuclear safety.

China National Nuclear Corporation, China General Nuclear Power Group, China Power Investment Corporation, State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation and China Huaneng Group signed the agreement to help each other in the event nuclear accidents or incidents occur in power plants.

The agreement is a significant breakthrough for China to improve nuclear safety after Japan's Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011, said Li Ganjie, vice minister of environmental protection and director of the National Nuclear Safety Administration.

The agreement ensures efficiency and effectiveness of rescue efforts among power groups. It also facilitates joint efforts to enhance emergency response capabilities and the sharing of response resources, Li said.

He called for strengthened coordination and interaction among adjoining nuclear power plants to tackle serious accidents.

China is making great progress in building rescue bases and teams at the level of nuclear groups' headquarters. The final goal is to establish an effective response and rescue task force that covers the country, he said.