China has made progress in further strengthening its regulation of nuclear safety, but the growth in its nuclear power programme will require the recruitment of a significant number of additional nuclear professionals in the regulatory field, an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts said.

The Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) team said China is benefiting from the innovative use of digital tools and artificial intelligence (AI) as the country continues to rapidly expand its nuclear energy programme.

Two policy issues were discussed during the IRRS mission: the impact of the rapid development of AI on regulation and the shortage of human resources due to the surge in the number of operating reactor units in China.