Gavin Liu, president, Westinghouse Electric Company, Asia region.
A1 I have every expectation that China will continue its trajectory of strong economic and strategic growth in 2017 and beyond.
Nuclear energy is a cornerstone of China's energy expansion plans because of its attributes related to safety and carbon-free emission benefits, and it fosters energy independence, energy security and industrial innovation. So this creates market participation opportunities for energy companies such as Westinghouse, and also creates a platform for joint technology partnerships and innovation.
With rapid development in energy comes the challenge of synchronizing industrial and supply chain capacities. One approach is to leverage global supply chains to meet the needs of peak demand during expansion.
A2 We are fortunate that Westinghouse's business capabilities and interests are closely matched to China's national energy strategies and the main theme.
Our business strategy for China is framed around cooperation and collaboration. By leveraging its global expertise, Westinghouse is to help its China customers absorb the AP1000™ plant technology. Successful and wide deployment of this technology improves opportunities to grow the global AP1000 plant fleet. In turn, there is the potential to create more opportunities for our China partners as well as Westinghouse.
We have continued to develop our own local capabilities by establishing an Engineering and Operations Center in Shanghai, forming joint ventures with our Chinese partners and fostering young qualified nuclear engineers.
A3 The upcoming year is going to be exciting and noteworthy for Westinghouse. We are collaborating with our Chinese strategic partners to startup Sanmen Unit 1- the World's first AP1000™ nuclear power plant and connect it to the electricity grid. The startup of Haiyang Unit 1 will follow closely. The completions of these projects serve as an important milestone and validate China's decision to use AP1000™ technology for domestic expansion.
On a broader scale, Westinghouse looks to our Asia business to be the growth engine for the future.
A4 Strengthening our local capability and localizing more of our work in China is one of the top priorities for Westinghouse in 2017. This strategic approach will help mitigate the monetary risk.
A5 Westinghouse sees many business opportunities in this market and intends to continue investments.
