China and France unveiled a nuclear energy company Monday, marking the establishment of the biggest Sino-French new energy joint venture.

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang and visiting French Prime Minister Francois Fillon attended the ceremony in Beijing, which also marked the official start of construction of the Taishan nuclear power station in south China's Guangdong Province.

The joint venture, Guangdong Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Company Ltd., is to take charge of constructing and operating the first-phase project of the power station.

According to China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co. Ltd. (CGNPC), the joint venture has a registered capital of about 16.7 billion yuan (2.5 billion U.S. dollars).

Electricite de France holds a 30-percent stake and CGNPC 70 percent.

Energy cooperation

A significant project in Sino-French cooperation on new energy, the nuclear power station would play an active and important role in promoting the two nations' utilization of advanced nuclear technology and their bilateral relations, Li said at the ceremony.

According to CGNPC, the first-phase project of the nuclear power station got a total investment of 50.2 billion yuan (7.35 billion U.S. dollars), and would include the construction of two units using the Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) technology, with each unit capacity up to 1.75 million kilowatts.

According to sources, the two units of the first-phase project are to be respectively put into commercial operation in 2013 and 2014, and will annually generate 26 billion kilowatt-hours on-grid energy when completed. Compared with coal-fired power plant, the project can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by around 22.7 million tons each year.

The construction of the first-phase project is expected to last 52 months.

Fillon said France hoped to advance cooperation with China on nuclear fuel reprocessing, personnel training and research on the fourth generation nuclear reactor.

The France-China cooperation on new energy would further demonstrate the two countries' responsible attitude towards environmental protection and tackling climate change, said Fillon, noting the two sides would promote bilateral cooperation in the spirit of mutual trust.

France enjoyed cutting-edge technology and management experience, while China had great market potential in nuclear energy. The two countries had had successful nuclear energy cooperation over the past years, said Zhou Dadi, former director of the National Development and Reform Commission's Energy Research Institute.

He added that using international advanced technology would help beef up China's development in nuclear energy, energy saving and emission reduction.

The attendance of the two leaders at the ceremony reflected the importance the two countries attached to enhancing nuclear energy cooperation, CGNPC chairman Qian Zhimin said at the ceremony.

Both France and China paid great attention to technology innovation and energy independence, said Fillon.

As a major energy-producer and consumer in the world, China has been making continuous efforts to improve its energy structure.

When attending the UN Climate Change Summit, President Hu Jintao said China would endeavor to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 15 percent by 2020.

According to the country's long and mid-term development plan of nuclear power plants, nuclear power installed capacity will reach 40 million kilowatts by 2020 and will generate 260 billion to 280 billion kilowatt hours of electricity each year, accounting for 4 percent to 6 percent of the country's total.

Actively developing nuclear energy was an important step taken by China to adjust energy structure, said Li Keqiang earlier Monday when meeting with Fillon.

China plans to launch construction of four other nuclear power plants in 2009, which are located in Zhejiang, Shandong and Hainan provinces. Construction of three of these plants has already been underway.

Momentum of ties

Fillon is on his first official visit to China since taking office.

During his meeting with Vice Premier Li, they also exchanged views on the state-to-state relations.

China and France recently saw sound momentum of accelerating development of the bilateral relationship, Li said.

He said China was ready to work with France to stick to the correct direction of the development bilateral ties, properly handle sensitive problems, respect each other's core interests and major concerns, consolidate political mutual trust, and jointly tackle global challenges such as energy, resources safety and climate change.

They agreed the two countries had comprehensive common interests and broad prospects for cooperation, whereas the world continued to undergo complicated and profound changes.

Fillon said France was glad about the progress made in the bilateral nuclear energy cooperation.

France was willing to work with China for the stable and harmonious development of bilateral relationship.

Premier Wen Jiabao also met with Fillon on Monday. President Hu Jintao and top legislator Wu Bangguo are expected to meet with him Tuesday.