Mr Chairman,

　　This being our first intervention at this session of the IAEA Board of Governors, with your permission, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the Republic of Djibouti and the Union of the Comoros to join the IAEA. The Chinese delegation would like to assure you, Mr Chairman, of our unreserved support for your work.

　　The Chinese delegation would like to thank the Director General, Mr Yukiya Amano, for his introductory remarks and associates ourselves with the intervention made by his excellency the ambassador of Sri Lanka on this agenda item on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

　　We have noted the reference in this annual report to the continued momentum of steady growth of nuclear power worldwide, in spite of a downward adjustment of the Agency projections for the global nuclear power generation capacity growth by 2030, which is a function of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, the depressed natural gas prices, the increased use of renewable energy and other factors. More than 30 countries intend to introduce nuclear power into their energy mix and 25 of the countries currently using nuclear power are either expanding or planning to expand their fleet. In particular, 72 reactors were under construction at the end of 2013, the highest number in 25 years. All this is proof enough that nuclear energy’s important contribution to global climate change response, energy supply assurance and sustainable development is more widely acknowledged today. As a specialized international organization in the nuclear sector, the Agency has been providing a great deal of support and assistance for member states in launching nuclear power programmes, analyzing energy systems and training nuclear professionals, through peer reviews, seminars and workshops, and training.

　　The past year also saw the Agency conducting a host of highly relevant collaborations with member states with significant socio-economic benefits by leveraging the unique advantages of nuclear technology and centering on some global issues, including the environment, human health, agriculture and water resources. The Agency also worked to meet the growing demand of member states for cooperation by promoting the ReNuAL project, integrating PACT (Programme Action for Cancer Therapy) into the technical cooperation framework and so on. The Chinese delegation would like to express its satisfaction with the Agency’s work and achievements over the past year in nuclear power and non-power sectors.

　　In 2013, some key activities related to the Action Plan on Nuclear Safety championed by the Agency continued to make headway and these included peer review, revision of standards, emergency response training and convention review. They contributed positively to reviewing the experience and lessons from the Fukushima accident and raising the global nuclear safety levels.On the front of nuclear security, the Agency continued to implement the new Nuclear Security Plan, conduct peer reviews and advisory services, facilitate collaboration and training, thus lending strong support to member states in building their nuclear security systems and capacities. The success of the ministerial conference on nuclear security has become an important milestone for strengthening global nuclear security. We would like to express our satisfaction with the Agency’s work in nuclear safety, nuclear security and nuclear emergency preparedness and response, and look forward to the publication, as scheduled, of the comprehensive report on the Fukushima nuclear accident.

　　Member states’ demand for cooperation with the Agency has been growing in recent years, but the growth of the resources available to the Agency has been anaemic, as a consequence of the global economic downturn. This has put the Secretariat under pressure as it performs its statutory functions. We are aware that the Secretariat has somewhat improved the situation by increasing external resources, strengthening internal management and using funds more efficiently.We encourage the Secretariat to continue working in this direction and hope that the Secretariat will remain seized of, and properly address, such problems as imbalance between two types of activities and misalignment between TC funds and regular budget growth.We have noted the progress in the discussion on this matter by the working group on financial matters and would like to take this opportunity to thank the ambassadors of Kenya and France for their work.

　　China’s nuclear energy endeavour has continued to make fresh headway. Four of the five reactors connected to the grid since the beginning of 2013 are in China, bringing the total number of nuclear power generating units in operation in China to 20. In addition, another 28 units are under construction in China and more projects are ready to start. All the projects under construction or pending construction meet the highest international safety standards to the letter, as required by the Chinese Government. To ensure the sustainable development of nuclear power, China’s nuclear fuel cycle industry has been steadily increasing its capacity. Construction of infrastructure in uranium enrichment, reprocessing and waste treatment and disposal and related technological R&D have been advancing on all fronts. Progress has also been made in the independent development of third-generation nuclear power technology and small and medium-sized reactors.

　　While expanding the use of nuclear energy, China has continued to give top priority to nuclear safety and emergency preparedness and response. Related capacity building has been accelerated. China now boasts complete preparedness and response capacity that covers on-site technical support, emergency monitoring and radiation protection, remediation and decontamination and medical assistance.On that basis, in May this year, China officially registered 11 national assistance capabilities with the IAEA Response and Assistance Network. Furthermore, China has expedited the development of a national-level emergency response force on the basis of the current specialized nuclear response units. Once in place, it would give China greater competence in response to serious and exceptionally serious nuclear accidents under complex conditions.

　　In March this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping set forth, at the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, a new “nuclear security concept” calling for a sensible, coordinated and balanced approach or, more specifically, equal emphasis on development and safety, rights and obligations, self-reliance and collaboration, treatment of symptoms and treatment of root causes. China will comprehensively implement these principles, continue to take part in the construction of the international nuclear security system and unceasingly perfect its nuclear security system and capacity building while sharing its experience of cooperation with other member states. China will also continue to contribute to the Nuclear Security Fund, host various events and provide in-kind contributions, to support the Agency in its central role in international cooperation on nuclear security. The Chinese Government will be hosting the TSO International Conference in Beijing in October this year. We welcome all member states to this event and hope it will contribute to the effectiveness of the international nuclear safety and security regulation system.

　　This year marks the 30th anniversary of China’s membership at IAEA. The past three decades has witnessed China’s nuclear energy endeavour attaining phenomenal achievements thanks to its hard work at home as well as international cooperation. Many of these achievements are attributable to IAEA as an important multilateral platform for cooperation.Here, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the Agency Secretariat and our wish that we can ride on this momentum to intensify our cooperation with the Agency on all fronts and to share our achievements and experience in nuclear energy development over the past decades with the Agency and other member states.

　　Having made the above comment, the Chinese delegation supports the approval of the Annual Report for 2013.

　　Thank you, Mr Chairman.