The expected deal between China and Britain that could pave the way for construction of three nuclear power plants has taken a decidedly cloak and dagger turn.
The Times of London reported that the British intelligence-gathering agency called GCHQ (which stands for Government Communications Headquarters) has said they would monitor the computing systems of Chinese companies, the China General Nuclear Corporation and the China National Nuclear Corporation, should they establish a presence in Britain in the nuclear power industry.
“GCHQ has a remit to support the cybersecurity of private-sector-owned critical national infrastructure projects, including in the civil nuclear sector and nuclear new builds, when invited to do so by the lead government department involved," the British newspaper media reports quoted a GCHQ spokesperson as saying.
In addition, the Business Insider reported that, “UK government officials and cybersecurity experts have been concerned for several years that Chinese technology companies like Huawei are building back doors into their equipment that can be used to spy on other nations. Whitehall [the British government], for example, removed the firm's video conferencing equipment from several government departments amid fears that it could be bugged. China has denied these allegations on multiple occasions.”
The anxiety over corporate or national security spying has spilled over to fears of shoddy construction practices in China, although categorically this is a fear that is a given in the industry that is based on dangerous quantities of radioactive fuel.
The Guardian called attention to a critical construction error made when the China General Nuclear Corporation built the Daya Bay nuclear power plant in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong.
By misreading blueprints, workers left out hundreds of steel rods in the first concrete layer of the reactor building foundation, which eventually was made up of five layers. The error, which occurred in 1987, caused a two month delay in construction.
Reportedly, workers left out 316 steel reinforcing rods out of 576 that were to be included in the concrete at that layer. After a two-month halt in construction, it was decided that they would add 300 thin steel rods to the second layer to make up for the mistake. The incident was reported in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1991.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to arrive in Britain Monday to begin a four-day visit that is expected to include signing agreements that could open the door for Chinese companies to help finance the $37 billion Hinkley Point C construction project, help finance a second nuclear power facility in Sizewell, England, and lead in the construction of a third new nuclear power facility in Bradwell.