China's Nuclear Exports and Assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa

China's Nuclear Exports and Assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa

There have been only a few scattered reports of important Chinese nuclear trade or cooperation with countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In November 1993, Waldo Stumpf of South Africa's Atomic Energy Corporation acknowledged that South Africa had imported low enriched uranium (LEU) from China for use in its nuclear weapons program. However, South Africa has publicly abandoned its nuclear weapons program, and there have been no reports of important South Africa-China nuclear trade since then. In December 1993, it was reported that China was negotiating an agreement with Ghana for the transfer of a research reactor. No nuclear transfers of proliferation concern have been reported.

For more in-depth information on open-source reports of Chinese exports and assistance, please consult the CNS Nuclear Abstracts database.

CHINA'S NUCLEAR EXPORTS AND ASSISTANCE TO SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

COUNTRY	REPORTED AREA OF CHINESE NUCLEAR ASSISTANCE
GHANA	Research reactors: --30 kWth Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) and enriched uranium (under IAEA safeguards--INFCIRC/468) (1995)
NIGERIA	Research reactors: --30 kWth Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) and enriched uranium (under IAEA safeguards--INFCIRC/526) (1996) --[US March 1996 statement to the IAEA Board of Governors on the transfer]
SOUTH AFRICA	Low-enriched uranium (LEU) --for Koeberg-1 power reactor and/or pilot enrichment plant) (early 1980s) (supplied without safeguards) Heavy water (D2O) (60 metric tons) (supplied without safeguards) (1981) Uranium hexafluoride (UF6) (1980s) (supplied without safeguards)

For information on China's nuclear trade with countries in north Africa, which have attracted much more international attention, see:

[CHINA'S NUCLEAR EXPORTS AND ASSISTANCE TO ALGERIA]

[CHINA'S NUCLEAR EXPORTS]

This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by MIIS.