ISTANBUL

The head of Russia’s State Atomiс Energy Corporation (Rosatom) said on Wednesday they will help China overtake the US in installed nuclear power capacity.

“China has grandiose plans for the development of nuclear energy. The goal is to catch up and surpass the US in installed capacity, which means reaching a capacity of more than 100 gigawatts,” Alexey Likhachev told Rossiya-1.

He said Russia had already helped construct four reactors in China and is building four more, stressing that cooperation in the nuclear field “can be predicted for a century ahead.”

China currently operates the world’s third-largest nuclear fleet, following the US and France, and is rapidly expanding its capacity through domestic projects and international partnerships.

On Tuesday, Russia and China signed 22 agreements during President Vladimir Putin’s official visit to Beijing, ranging from energy and science to healthcare, agriculture, and media.

Putin first attended a two-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin, and then traveled to Beijing to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attend a massive military parade in the Chinese capital commemorating the end of World War Two after Japan's formal surrender.