WASHINGTON ?
The U.S. is as many as 15 years behind China on developing high-tech nuclear power as Beijing's state-backed technology approach and extensive financing give it the edge, a report said Monday.
China has 27 nuclear reactors under construction with average construction timelines of about seven years, far faster than other countries, said
the study by Information Technology & Innovation Foundation,
a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute.
"China’s rapid deployment of ever-more modern nuclear power plants over time produces significant scale economies and learning-by-doing effects, and this suggests that Chinese enterprises will gain an advantage at incremental innovation in this sector going forward," the report said.