Year
2015
Abstract
Both China and the United States have established effective domestic nuclear safeguards and security programs. Their cooperation to develop technology, conduct joint outreach, and improve methodologies for nuclear safeguards and security is important to the global nuclear materials management community. The China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) and the United States Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) initiated bilateral, government-to-government collaboration in the area of nuclear safeguards and security in 2004. This collaboration was conducted under the Agreement Between the Department of Energy of the United States of America and the State Development and Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technology (PUNT). The initial collaboration focused on conducting a safeguards and security technology demonstration in Beijing in October 2005. It also included cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency to conduct a regional workshop that provided participants with an overview of nuclear material control and accounting (MC&A) and physical protection (PP) system designs for nuclear facilities. Over the past ten years, this bilateral cooperation has expanded to include numerous engagements on safeguards and security best practices. Additionally, in 2011, DOE and CAEA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a nuclear security Center of Excellence (COE) in Beijing to be completed as a deliverable to the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit that calls for bilateral collaboration to design and build a facility to train domestic and regional safeguards and security experts. An overview of all collaboration between CAEA and DOE/NNSA on nuclear safeguards and security for the past ten years is presented.