We should follow the overall national security concept and nuclear safety concept, and accelerate the construction of a modern nuclear safety supervision system

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has kept in mind the overall strategy of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the great changes in the world unseen in a century, regarded national security as the top priority, creatively put forward the overall national security concept, incorporated nuclear safety into the overall national security system, put forward a rational, coordinated and progressive nuclear security concept, advocated the building of a community with a shared future for nuclear security, called for the bottom line of building a beautiful China, and guided the nuclear safety work in the new era to achieve historic achievements. On the new journey, we must firmly support the "two establishments" and resolutely achieve the "two safeguards", thoroughly study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, follow the overall national security concept and nuclear safety concept, accelerate the construction of a modern nuclear safety regulatory system, resolutely shoulder the political responsibility of ensuring nuclear safety, and build a solid foundation for nuclear safety for national rejuvenation and national prosperity.

Nuclear safety is the lifeline of the development of the nuclear industry, an important field of ecological and environmental protection, and an important part of national security. In-depth study and comprehension of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on nuclear safety is of great significance for us to accurately grasp the responsibility positioning and the rules of nuclear safety supervision, and promote the high-quality development of nuclear safety supervision.

Ensuring nuclear safety is an inevitable requirement for safeguarding national security. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "national security is an important cornerstone of a stable country". At present, the connotation and extension of national security on the mainland are richer than at any time in history, the realm of time and space is broader than at any time in history, and the internal and external factors are more complex than at any time in history. Nuclear security plays an extremely special role in national security, and is closely related to political security, military security, economic security, ecological security, scientific and technological security, and resource security. It is necessary to safeguard and shape the overall national security situation and build a tight and solid nuclear security defense line.

Ensuring nuclear safety is the bottom-line project for the construction of a beautiful China. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "we must guard the bottom line of safety in the construction of a beautiful China" and "ensure nuclear and radiation safety". Once there is a problem with nuclear safety, the resulting radioactive contamination will directly endanger public health and environmental safety, and will also seriously damage the public's confidence in nuclear energy, affecting the green and low-carbon transformation of energy and the implementation of carbon peak and carbon neutrality strategies. It is necessary to profoundly grasp the special requirements for nuclear safety in the construction of a beautiful China, and ensure that the background of the construction of a beautiful China is more adequate with a high level of nuclear safety.

Ensuring nuclear safety is the basic prerequisite for building a nuclear power. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "the nuclear industry is a high-tech strategic industry and an important cornerstone of national security. We must adhere to safe development and innovative development." The development of nuclear energy is objectively accompanied by risks, but it can be guaranteed through a series of effective technical and management means to defend in depth. The history of nuclear energy development shows that without nuclear safety, nuclear power development is simply impossible, and any paralysis and laxity leads to problems with nuclear safety, which will be "nothing is lost". At present, the mainland is in a critical period of transformation from a nuclear power to a nuclear power, and it must always give the highest priority to nuclear safety and take solid and effective measures to ensure that nuclear safety is foolproof and absolutely foolproof.

Ensuring nuclear safety is an integral part of improving people's quality of life. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "the people's yearning for a better life is our goal". At present, nuclear technology is more and more widely used in industry, agriculture, medicine, materials, environmental protection and other fields. At the same time, because the society's perception of nuclear safety is mainly due to the huge disasters and losses caused by the three major nuclear accidents in the history of nuclear power, the phenomena of "nuclear fear", "nuclear fear", and nuclear-related "nimby" still exist. We must rely on the continuous improvement of nuclear safety to promote the advantages and avoid the disadvantages of nuclear energy, and make greater contributions to protecting people's lives and health and improving people's livelihood and well-being.

Ensuring nuclear safety is the common goal of building a community with a shared future for mankind. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "building a community with a shared future for mankind is the future of the people of all countries in the world". Nuclear safety knows no borders. In recent years, the global development of nuclear power has gradually recovered, and a new consensus is gradually forming for nuclear energy to play a greater role in ensuring energy supply and addressing climate change. We must take ensuring nuclear safety as a common responsibility, jointly build a fair, cooperative and win-win international nuclear security system, and build a community with a shared future for nuclear security.

In the new era, the mainland has achieved remarkable results in the integrity and innovation of nuclear safety supervision and accumulated valuable experience

The mainland's nuclear safety supervision undertaking has been developed in the context of the accelerated progress of reform, opening up, and modernization, and along with the development process of the nuclear power industry. In 1984, the mainland established the National Nuclear Safety Administration, which entrusted the mainland with the historic responsibility of supervising and managing the safety of civil nuclear facilities. Over the past 40 years, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the mainland's nuclear safety supervision and the development of nuclear power have gone hand in hand, from scratch and from weak to strong, and have generally gone through three stages: initial exploration, integration and improvement, and high-quality development. In particular, since the beginning of the new era, under the guidance of the overall national security concept and the nuclear safety concept, the mainland's nuclear safety supervision has reached a new level, making positive contributions to ensuring the healthy development of the nuclear industry. The promulgation and implementation of the Nuclear Safety Law of the People's Republic of China has formed a systematic and complete system of laws and standards composed of 2 laws, 7 administrative regulations, 28 departmental rules, more than 100 safety guidelines and more than 1,000 technical standards. In the name of the government, China issued a white paper on "China's Nuclear Security", which clarified the determination and actions to build a community with a shared future for nuclear security. Effectively operate the national coordination mechanism for nuclear safety work, issue and implement a five-year plan for nuclear safety and radioactive pollution prevention and control, and strengthen the overall planning of the industry. Establish and improve the "three-in-one" supervision and organization system of headquarters organs, regional supervision stations, and technical support units, promote the strengthening of on-site supervision forces, and form a supervision team of 100 people in headquarters organs, 1,000 people at the central level, and nearly 10,000 people nationwide. It has built infrastructure such as a national nuclear and radiation safety supervision technology research and development base, built an independent verification calculation, simulation analysis and other test and verification platforms, and comprehensively improved the capabilities of review and licensing, supervision and law enforcement, radiation monitoring, accident response, experience feedback, scientific and technological research and development, and risk prevention. Overall, the mainland's nuclear safety regulatory system has effectively coped with the new challenges brought about by the large-scale development of nuclear power, and the regulatory efficiency has been significantly improved. In 2012, the mainland had 17 nuclear power units in operation and 30 units under construction, and as of the end of April 2024, there were 56 nuclear power units in operation and 27 units under construction, in addition to 21 civilian research reactors and 21 civil nuclear fuel cycle facilities, all of which maintained good safety records and controlled the construction quality of nuclear facilities under construction. 170,000 radioactive sources in use and 290,000 sets of radiation devices are safely controlled; The quality of the radiation environment in the country is generally good, and public health and environmental safety are fully guaranteed.

We have always adhered to the policy of "safety first, quality first", followed the regulatory principles of "independence, openness, rule of law, rationality and effectiveness", and adhered to the regulatory style of "strict and strict, cautious and cautious, detailed and detailed, practical and practical", established a set of regulatory systems that are in line with international standards and in line with national conditions, and formed the basic experience of "ten insistences". Adhere to cultural guidance, and integrate the core values of rule of law awareness, crisis awareness, self-discipline awareness, and cooperation awareness into the thoughts and actions of employees. Adhere to administration in accordance with the law, and ensure that regulatory activities are authorized by law and carried out in strict accordance with the law. Persist in relying on mechanisms, and establish a set of working mechanisms for review, supervision, law enforcement, monitoring, and emergency response. Adhere to international standards, and establish a system of laws and regulations and standards and a regulatory model with high standards of "late-mover advantage". Adhere to the problem-oriented approach, strengthen risk management and control, experience feedback, and investigation and handling. Adhere to strict management, strict prevention at the source, strict management of the process, and strict punishment of the consequences. Adhere to continuous innovation, and promote system, mechanism, method and technological innovation in the spirit of reform and innovation. Insist on laying a solid foundation and strengthening technical hard support and team soft power. Adhere to unity and cooperation, and build a firm, harmonious and progressive working atmosphere. Insist on starting from me, and lead the continuous improvement of the whole industry with strict self-restraint demonstration.

In recent years, on the basis of the original work, the mainland's nuclear safety supervision system has earnestly performed its duties and made new progress in a number of key areas. The first is to seek progress while maintaining stability, keeping integrity and innovation. Carry out industry-wide analysis of the nuclear safety situation, centralized analysis of experience feedback, nuclear safety supervision dialogue with nuclear power groups and other regulatory practices, and strive to solve the overall systemic problems affecting nuclear safety. Grasp the rules and implement precise policies, and explore ways to ensure that advanced reactor demonstration projects such as Hualong No. 1, AP1000, EPR, and high-temperature gas-cooled reactors are the first to be completed and put into operation in the mainland, and the design, development, and engineering construction of fast breeder reactors, thorium-based molten salt reactors, and small modular reactors are at the forefront of the world. The second is to be strict and supervise according to law. Implement a series of special actions in the whole industry, such as comprehensively strengthening the nuclear safety management of the nuclear power industry and investigating the hidden dangers of nuclear and radiation safety for three years, so as to find and solve problems and improve the level of nuclear safety in the industry. Maintain a high-pressure posture of "zero tolerance" for fraud and illegal operations, and strengthen warnings and deterrence through typical case industry notifications and major problem feedback groups. The third is to consolidate the foundation and improve the ability. The regional nuclear and radiation monitoring emergency material reserve is listed as one of the major projects of the national "14th Five-Year Plan", improving the capabilities of risk monitoring and early warning, marine radiation monitoring, and regulatory informatization, and the real-time acquisition rate of state-controlled radiation environment monitoring point data is stable at more than 97%, and building a multi-functional talent team with hierarchical and classified business training. Fourth, we need to coordinate and promote development. Departments work together to promote the resolution of a series of major and difficult issues such as the supervision of online purchase and sale of radioactive materials. Industry linkage strengthens the construction of public communication platforms and brand building on nuclear safety, continues to cultivate a nuclear safety culture, and creates an atmosphere of co-construction and sharing. China has strengthened multilateral exchanges with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, promoted the establishment of the IAEA's first Nuclear and Radiation Safety Collaborating Center on the mainland, and deepened exchanges of nuclear safety visits, review consultations and joint research between countries. China's national report was highly praised at the 8th and 9th Joint Review Conferences of the Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety, with 1 good practice and 8 good achievements.

Accelerate the construction of a modern nuclear safety supervision system that is compatible with the development of the nuclear industry

At present, the mainland's nuclear power is entering a new stage of large-scale and accelerated development, and nuclear safety supervision is not only facing global common problems such as the impact of global climate change and supply chain reliability, but also facing individual challenges such as large scale of nuclear power, many new reactors for the first time, and many group reactors at the same site. We must conscientiously implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions at the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection, "strictly supervise and manage, comprehensively improve the capacity of nuclear safety supervision, and build a modern nuclear safety supervision system that is compatible with the development of the mainland's nuclear industry", so as to ensure the high-quality development of the nuclear industry with high-level nuclear safety.

Accurately understand the overall objectives of a modern nuclear safety regulatory system. The modern nuclear safety supervision system is the concrete embodiment of Chinese modernization in the field of nuclear safety, and is an all-round modernization of regulatory concepts, methods and means, scientific and technological support, force allocation, environmental shaping, and international influence, and the core is systematic, scientific, legal, refined, and informatized, with the goal of forming a set of centralized and unified, reasonable division of labor, resource integration, process optimization, upper and lower coordination, and efficient operation of the regulatory system, and cultivating an independent and objective, competent and credible, open and transparent, honest and just, fair and participating regulatory force. We will build a more independent, professional, prudent and efficient regulatory agency that is compatible with the development of the mainland's nuclear industry, the characteristics and laws of nuclear safety supervision, the requirements of national governance modernization, and the needs of leading global nuclear safety governance.

Systematically grasp the working principles of a modern nuclear safety regulatory system. The construction of a modern nuclear safety supervision system is a strategic, overall and systematic project, which must be based on reality, overall planning, overall planning and coordinated progress. Coordinate the relationship between development and safety, consolidate the foundation of nuclear safety with the achievements of industrial cultivation, technology accumulation, management experience, and team capacity in the development of nuclear safety, and continuously shape new momentum and new advantages in the development of nuclear industry with practical results in nuclear safety. Coordinate and deal with the relationship between external supervision and endogenous power, deeply understand that the strictest supervision is the most powerful support for the industry, and use external supervision to supervise the detailed implementation of the main responsibility of enterprises, the effective operation of the management system and the continuous cultivation of nuclear safety culture, and promote the industry to improve the level of intrinsic safety with innovative design concepts and advanced technology. Coordinate the relationship between integrity and innovation, adhere to the successful experience of the party's leadership, governance according to law, professional success, strict and meticulous, open cooperation, etc., take the initiative to adapt to the changes in the international situation, development trend and security situation in the nuclear field, and promote the innovation of nuclear safety supervision concepts and methods.

Solidly promote the key tasks of the modern nuclear safety supervision system. Anchor the realization of high-level nuclear safety goals, promote the whole industry to establish a strong sense of distress and risk awareness, deeply understand that no nuclear accident is only the minimum requirement, no major things can happen, no small things, with the high standard of "zero mistakes" and "zero damage" to establish a set of systematic evaluation index system, strictly prevent the achievements with relish, the problem is not strange, the risk is paralyzed, and the nuclear industry practitioners "always rest assured" to reassure the Party Central Committee and the people. It is necessary to ensure that all aspects of responsibility are seamlessly connected and do not leave blanks, and the new situation such as the trend of professional and intensive management of the industry may affect the implementation of responsibilities as soon as possible, and timely standardize and guide, so as to prevent the virtualization, weakening and formalization of responsibilities with the effective operation of the system, and resolutely put an end to "slogans shouted loudly and responsibilities are not realized". It is worthwhile and necessary to put risk prevention and control in a prominent position and resolve to eliminate nuclear safety hazards, for which a certain amount of economic benefits will be temporarily lost. Further improve the scientific, accurate, and responsive risk monitoring and early warning indicator system, strengthen risk assessment and analysis, hidden danger investigation and management, and hierarchical and categorical supervision, properly respond to new threats and challenges such as climate change, marine ecology, network security, and extreme disasters, and strictly prevent risks such as public opinion from intertwining, superimposing, evolving, and upgrading, and guarding the bottom line with a more flattened, professional, and practical emergency response.

Comprehensively strengthen the safeguard support of the modern nuclear safety supervision system. Advancing with the times to promote the construction of the rule of law, not only timely transform the latest international nuclear safety standards for our use, but also not take them as a guideline and copy them, and accelerate the transformation of the first-mover advantages of small modular reactors, high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, experimental fast reactors and other projects into leading advantages in regulations and standards. Grasp the law to implement precise supervision, "accurate portrait" of the supervision object from the aspects of technology type, regional characteristics, equity division, etc., take multiple measures to solve historical problems, current risks and possible hidden dangers, and promote the continuous improvement of safety level with closed-loop management and effective experience feedback. We should improve the efficiency of supervision through reform, accelerate the reform of systems such as environmental impact assessment of nuclear facilities, and promote the construction of an ecosystem that is more conducive to the safe development of fusion energy and nuclear medicine through active supervision. Empower safety supervision with innovation, integrate industry resources to promote the research and development of key and basic technologies for nuclear safety, promote platform co-construction, joint research and achievement sharing, and explore the use of digital twins, artificial intelligence and other information technologies to empower nuclear safety supervision. Gather all parties to work together to strengthen public communication on nuclear safety, and enhance brand communication, guidance and influence. Promote the construction of the nuclear safety team as a whole, and improve the business training system that serves the overall situation, is hierarchical and classified, and covers all employees. We should participate in global nuclear security governance with a more positive attitude and more effective actions, continuously expand the "circle of friends" of nuclear safety, actively absorb and learn from international advanced experience, and make more important achievements to promote them internationally, so as to make due contributions to global nuclear safety.

(The author is Vice Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, member of the Party Leadership Group, and Director of the National Nuclear Safety Administration)