Saudi officials are considering a Chinese bid for the kingdom’s first commercial nuclear power plants in the hope they can push US president Joe Biden’s administration to loosen its conditions for aiding Riyadh’s nascent nuclear industry, including commitments not to enrich uranium or mine their own uranium deposits, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

China is unlikely to require Riyadh to adhere to such requirements, which are intended to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the newspaper said.

China National Nuclear Corporation, a state-owned firm, has proposed the construction of a nuclear plant near the border with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed Saudi officials.