CNNC Nuclear Power, a subsidiary of China National Nuclear Corp, said it would strive to establish a nuclear power plant in Chongqing during the current five-year plan (2011-15), the Wall Street Journal reported.

Media reports have said that the Chinese government plans to build a number of new reactors by 2020, when the installed capacity of nuclear power as a proportion of total power is expected to reach 5 per cent, up from the current 2 per cent. China has 13 operational nuclear power reactors and is building more than 25, according to a report on the World Nuclear Association’s website.

China will draw lessons from the experience of nuclear power in Japan, said Zhang Lijun, deputy minister of the Ministry of Environmental Protection.