In Geopolitics Today - Friday, September 17th
China Developing a Thorium-fuelled Nuclear Reactor and France Recalls Ambassadors to the US & Australia
China Developing a Thorium-fuelled Nuclear Reactor
At the end of August, China announced the completion of its first thorium-fuelled molten-salt nuclear reactor. With the the construction efforts for the unusual nuclear reactor in the Gobi Desert now winding down, China plans to begin conducting tests, and is poised to test a nuclear reactor powered by thorium before the end of September.
If the upcoming tests succeed, China will be able to proceed with the construction of a second, far larger reactor capable of generating electricity for over 100,000 homes. Beijing could then position itself as an important exporter of a unique reactor energy, leveraging its advantages in energy generation for decades. Moreover, what makes thorium reactors somewhat special compared to uranium reactors is that thorium reactors do not need to be built near significant water supplies. Unlike conventional uranium power plants which need a significant water supply in order to cool the reactors, the molten salts serve as a coolant for thorium reactors, which means that these reactors could be installed in isolated and arid regions.
If the Chinese efforts are successful, Beijing will be well positioned to meet its climate-change goals as molten-salt technology promises to be “safer” and “greener” than conventional uranium reactors. On top of that, as Beijing continually strives for energy independence, the early adaptation of a potentially ground-breaking nuclear technology may deliver the energy that China’s development goals require without having to rely on outside partners.
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France Recalls Ambassadors to the US & Australia
France has reacted with fury to the recent announcement of AUKUS — the Indo-Pacific security pact signed between Australia, the UK & the US — and announced that it was recalling French ambassadors to both the United States and Australia. The furor is directed at both allies after Australia scrapped a massive contract for the purchase of conventional French submarines in favor of nuclear-powered submarines built with by the United States.
Earlier in the day, a top French diplomat was quoted as saying that French relations with the United States are now in a state of “crisis.” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that the French decision to withdraw ambassadors from allied countries for consultations was justified by the “exceptional seriousness of the announcements” made by Canberra and Washington. Le Drian also went on to characterise the announcement to supply nuclear-powered submarines to Australia as “unacceptable behavior between allies and partners.”
For Paris, the abrupt cancellation of its conventional submarine deal with Australia is a betrayal of a contractual obligation agreed upon many years ago, with made little notice and consideration for French interests, and therefore a complete diplomatic humiliation. French officials are also concerned about the fact that the now scrapped deal was build upon joint commitments focused on both nations working together in the Pacific, leaving future cooperation in doubt. French diplomatic sources have said that Australian officials never mentioned to France its intention to abandon its contract in order to shift to nuclear-powered submarines, including as recently as during a June meeting between Macron and Morrison.
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