China - World Nuclear Outlook Report

Current operations

China has 64 operable reactors, totalling 64 GWe of net nuclear capacity. There are 39 reactors under construction in China, with a total capacity of 45 GWe.

Since the start of 2026 four reactors have been connected to the grid, Changjiang 3, Taipingling 1&2 and San’ao 1, all four reactors being Hualong One models. In July 2026 the State Council approved construction of eight reactors: three pairs of Hualong One reactors at Jinqimen, Taipingling and Zhuanghe; and two Guohe One (CAP1400) reactors at Laiyang.

The ACP100 Linglong One SMR at Changjiang, Hainan nears operation. A new SMR design, the ACP100 (or 'Linglong One') is due to start up in 2026. The 125 MWe integrated PWR is being built at the Changjiang site in Hainan.

In January 2026 first concrete was poured for unit 1 of the Xuwei nuclear power project in Jiangsu province, which will supply both industrial heating and electricity by coupling a three-module high-temperature gas-cooled reactor unit with two Hualong One pressurized water reactors, primarily serving Lianyungang's petrochemical base.

Table Ch.1 Nuclear capacity status (as of 1 October 2026)

Nuclear policy and outlook

China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), issued in March 2026, places nuclear alongside wind, solar and hydropower as part of a “ten-year action to double non-fossil energy”. The plan set a goal to increase operating nuclear capacity to about 110 GWe by 2030; use Generation III PWRs as the principal technology; maintain a steady pace of nuclear construction; advance research, development and demonstration of advanced reactor designs; and expand non-electric and integrated uses of nuclear energy.

In 2022, China Nuclear Energy Association projected China’s nuclear capacity reaching 110 GWe by 2030 and 150 GWe by 2035. Another study, produced in 2019 by China Nuclear Power Development Centre, a research institute under the National Energy Administration, said that China’s nuclear capacity could reach 335 GWe in 2050. This figure is consistent with the total capacity in World Nuclear Association’s assessment of existing reactor capacity, reactors under construction, planned and proposed, which reaches over 320 GWe by 2050. In each year between 2022 and 2025, nuclear projects with a combined capacity of more than 12 GWe have been approved. Construction starts have lagged behind, with construction starting on 5.0 GWe, 6.2 GWe, 8.7 GWe and 10.2 GWe respectively between 2022 and 2025.

Table Ch.2 Contributions to total capacity projection in 2050 (gross)

Readiness Assessment

China has a large operating fleet, the world’s largest construction pipeline, a state-backed financing and utility structure, a mature regulator, large domestic reactor vendors, high localisation, a rapidly expanding nuclear supply chain, and active development of large reactors, SMRs, high-temperature reactors, fast reactors and fuel-cycle infrastructure.