China will convert more of its nuclear reactors so that they will no longer be capable of enriching weapons-grade uranium, under an agreement Beijing and Washington finalized after President Obama met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House on Thursday.
The agreement is the type of nuclear de-escalation the Obama administration is pursuing during the two-day Nuclear Security Summit that has brought 50 world leaders to Washington this week.
The affected reactors are housed at Shenzen University. Xi also committed China to supporting similar conversions of reactors it facilitated in Ghana and Nigeria specifically, as well as globally.
In their joint effort to fight terrorism, the two nuclear powers will also work to curb nuclear smuggling.
“Recognizing the need for strengthened international cooperation to counter nuclear smuggling, we will continue to seek opportunities to deepen our joint efforts to investigate nuclear and radioactive material smuggling networks; detect, recover and secure material out of regulatory control; and successfully arrest and prosecute the criminals involved,” reads the joint agreement issued Thursday.
The administration unveiled similar agreements with other countries, including Norway and Kazakhstan, shortly after issuing the joint statement with China.
