On the occasion of the visit to China by the President of the French Republic, EDF's Chairman and CEO Henri Proglio signed two agreements with Sun Qin, the CEO of CNNC (China National Nuclear Corporation) and He Yu, President of CGNPC (China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Company), thereby marking a new step in the acknowledgment of EDF as a partner in China's nuclear programme.

The agreement signed between EDF and CNNC, a key player in the Chinese nuclear industry, is intended to strengthen the engineering collaboration between the two companies, which started with the construction of the nuclear plants of Daya Bay and Ling Ao (Guangdong Province). This agreement will see increased liaison between the two groups, particularly in the fields of training, project management and R&D.

The partnership signed with CGNPC today in the presence of Jean-Louis Borloo, Minister of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable development and the Sea, in charge of Green Technologies and Climate change Negotiations, and Christine Lagarde, Minister for the Economy, Industry and the Employment, complements the joint-venture agreement, concluded with EDF in 2008, for the construction and operation of two EPR nuclear reactors at Taishan (Guangdong Province). It provides a broader framework for cooperation between the two groups, particularly in the fields of engineering, purchasing and R&D. It is also a reminder of the determination of EDF and CGNPC to identify the opportunities for joint development projects, both within China and internationally.

These two agreements are a consolidation of the EDF Group's 25 years' strategic presence in China. As operator of the largest number of nuclear installations globally, the Group is therefore participating, alongside the largest nuclear operator in the country, in the biggest nuclear construction programme in the world. This represents a major opportunity for the entire French nuclear industry and it is EDF's recognised expertise and know-how that is underpinning its position as a major player in the revival of nuclear energy, at international level.

Tags: EDF Group