Blessed by a U.S. Official, China Will Buy 4 Nuclear Reactors

By KEITH BRADSHER

Published: December 18, 2006

HONG KONG, Dec. 17 — China will buy four Westinghouse nuclear reactors in a deal that shows the continued attractiveness of American technology, but may also stir worries in Washington that the United States is selling its competitive advantage one industry at a time.

Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman of the United States and Ma Kai, the minister of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, signed a memorandum of understanding for the reactors in Beijing on Saturday. The deal calls for the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation to buy the reactors from Westinghouse Electric, which the Toshiba Corporation, based in Tokyo, bought earlier this year.