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  • On this episode of China Uncensored,

  • a fission is forming between the UK and China.

  • Hi, welcome to China Uncensored, I’m your host Chris Chappell.

  • You know, when I think of nuclear technology,

  • I think of one thing.

  • Ok, I think of two things.

  • "What do I do? What do I do?

  • In the name of God you got to tell me!"

  • Ok, I think of three things.

  • The third thing is China.

  • China has been investing billions of dollars in foreign countries,

  • including buying stakes in things like power plants, water utilities, and electrical grids.

  • I guess they're so good at being a developing country,

  • that they've decided to develop other countries, too.

  • Let's talk about the power plants.

  • Though you might know China for its investment in clean energy,

  • the Chinese regime actually wants to help the United Kingdom

  • build its dream nuclear power plant.

  • The state-owned China General Nuclear Power

  • promised to put up about a third of the cost

  • for the $23 billion dollar state-of-the-art facility at Hinkley Point in England.

  • If completed, it could provide electricity for nearly 6 million homes.

  • It will also be the world's first power plant

  • that apologizes profusely every time it lets off steam.

  • Oh dear, I’m terribly sorry about that.

  • Now, a lot of people thought this was a good idea.

  • “I think this is going to be a very important moment for British-Chinese relations

  • which are in a very good state,

  • something of a golden era in our relationship.”

  • A golden era?

  • Maybe, possibly, the guy who just caused the biggest geopolitical divorce in modern history,

  • might not be the best judge of relationships.

  • Although, when your first and second dates are both of the Opium Wars,

  • I guess your relationship can only go up from there.

  • Yeah.

  • Anyway, the Hinkley Point nuclear deal

  • seems much less glowy now,

  • because there's a new prime minister in town.

  • Just as investors gathered to finalized the agreement,

  • the new British Prime Minister Theresa May

  • said she needed some time to think about it first.

  • Uh oh.

  • Guys, here's some China Uncensored relationship advice.

  • When you ask your strategic partner for a commitment

  • whether you do it with a diamond ring,

  • or say, a stake in a 23 billion dollar nuclear power plant

  • and she says she has to think about it first,

  • that's not the best sign.

  • You see, last year, while Britain’s then-Prime Minister David Cameron

  • and China’s leader Xi Jinping were having a stag night at the local Pig 'n' Whistle,

  • current-Prime Minister Theresa May’s advisor wrote this editorial.

  • He wrote that British Intelligence felt

  • the intelligence services ofChinacontinue to work against UK interests at home and abroad.”

  • And he warned that if a Chinese state-run corporation

  • had access to the computers at the Hinkley Point reactor,

  • China couldshut down Britain’s energy production at will.”

  • Which is kind of like

  • giving someone the keys to your house and your car after the third date.

  • Only, then there’s just a risk of an emotional meltdown.

  • Maybe that’s why Prime Minister May has a so-called

  • general prejudiceagainst Chinese investment.

  • You know who else might have a “general prejudice?”

  • The United States.

  • Because just after Prime Minister May delayed the nuclear deal, this story broke.

  • Apparently the same Chinese state-owned company

  • that wants to invest in Hinkley Point

  • is facing charges of nuclear espionage from the US Department of Justice.

  • China General Nuclear Power is being accused

  • of stealing nuclear technology research from the US

  • to help speed up its production of Chinese reactors

  • for almost twenty years.

  • That's...also not the best sign.

  • So what do you think of the Hinkley Point nuclear plant?

  • Should the UK put a ring on it?

  • Leave your comments below.

  • Thanks for watching this episode of China Uncensored.

  • Once again I’m Chris Chappell, see you next time.

On this episode of China Uncensored,

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