Leaders say working together on security crucial for stability

Xu Dazhe, chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority, meets US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz in Washington on Thursday. YIN BOGU / XINHUA

Xu Dazhe, chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority, said on Thursday that China will continue to expand cooperation in nuclear security with the US and other nations.

He mentioned the March 18 opening in Beijing of the Nuclear Security Center of Excellence, a state-of-the-art joint training project between China and the US.

"We will turn the center into a platform for international exchange, a platform for technological research and a platform for improving China's capabilities in nuclear security," Xu said.

Li Wei, deputy chief of the Department of Customs Control and Inspection of the General Administration of China Customs, applauded the China Customs Radiation Detection Training Center that opened in 2012.

That joint program between China and the US, inked in 2011 under then President Hu Jintao, signaled new progress between the two countries in preventing and fighting nuclear terrorism and threats, he said.

The center, located in Qinhuangdao, a coastal city in Hebei province, is used in the training of professionals from China and other Asia-Pacific nations and regions.

China and the US have also cooperated in installing radiation detection devices at mega ports, including Yangshan Port in Shanghai.

Li said the Yangshan project, the ownership and maintenance of which was turned over by the US to China in January, has been praised by both sides as exemplary and a model that is applicable all over the world.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com