Senior Tories have urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to reconsider China's involvement in the UK's nuclear energy sector, fearing a potential grip on the nation's important infrastructure, the Daily Mail reported on Sunday.
China's state-owned China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), which is involved in a plant currently under construction in Somerset, is being lined up for planned Sizewell C in Suffolk, and Bradwell in Essex.
The projects were part of a deal concluded by former British Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2015, inaugurating a "golden era" in bilateral relations.
However, amid criticism of China's early handling of the coronavirus and Beijing's recent move to impose new security laws on Hong Kong, concerns have grown about the country's ambitions as well.
"The world has changed. There's a strong case for saying we need to be more mindful of our vulnerabilities. I would be wary of letting China in. That's the case with Huawei and nuclear power. It is better to be safe than sorry", Bob Seely, a member of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, said.
As far as two other plants are concerned, Sizewell C will use French designs, with CGN helping to fund it and have an option to take a 20 percent stake.
In Bradwell, however, the Chinese company will own a two-thirds stake and is using its own designs.
