As China's reputation for building high-speed trains continues to grow worldwide, it is steadily gaining a reputation for its expertise in another high-technology field, nuclear energy.

The past year's big-ticket developments demonstrated the country's global ambitions for its proprietary technology, important deals being signed with Argentina, Britain, Kenya and Thailand.

In November the country's main nuclear company, China National Nuclear Corp., signed a deal worth $6 billion with Argentina to build a nuclear plant, that country's fourth.

China recently signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia to develop Chinese fourth-generation nuclear technology in that country.

Another nuclear giant, China General Nuclear Corp. (CGN) signed an agreement with Kenya on Sept. 7 on developing nuclear projects in that country. In Britain it is possible that one of the three nuclear power plants to be built will adopt Chinese nuclear technologies.

However, in the coming years top targets for Chinese nuclear exports will be Turkey and South Africa, experts said, because both countries face severe electricity shortages and plan nuclear power plants to help overcome these.

South Africa, the most developed country in Africa, which operates the continent's only nuclear power plant, near Cape Town, invited tenders for a contract estimated to be worth $80 billion to build four nuclear reactors, the largest contract in the country's history.

The deal has attracted interest from nearly all major nuclear companies in the world, including China General Nuclear Power Group, State Nuclear Power Technology Corp., Russia's state atomic agency Rosatom and French nuclear firms, which all put forward proposals for the project.

CGN even set up an office in Johannesburg in 2010. SNPTC signed a series of agreements with Nuclear Energy Corp. of South Africa last year when President Xi Jinping visited the country.

Turkey will become another battlefield for the world's nuclear companies as the country opens bidding on building its third nuclear power plant next year, a contract that could be worth between $22 billion and $25 billion.

State Nuclear Power Technology Corp., one of China's three nuclear giants and the U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric Corp. are potential bidders, said Murat Mercan, a former deputy energy minister of Turkey.

"China is building nuclear power plants using its own third-generation nuclear reactor, and I don't see why we can't use it," he told China Daily.

What makes the country competitive in the international bidding is its rich experience in domestic nuclear power construction, project management capability in building nuclear power plants, stability, abundant financial support and its indigenous nuclear technologies, experts said.

A nuclear industry expert Zhang Luqing said: "Competition will be intense for China's nuclear players, as they have to compete with the sophisticated world-class nuclear players, but I think, with their great domestic experience, they have a good chance of winning the contracts."

Chinese nuclear companies are highly competitive on safety, technology and price, he said.

As the country builds more nuclear power plants, demonstrating its ability to foreign counterparts, Chinese participation in foreign nuclear power projects will extend beyond project financing to include nuclear design, engineering and operation, he said.

Zhang cited nuclear projects in Britain as an example of whereit takes time for China to make huge inroads and get local clients to gain confidence in Chinese nuclear technologies.

Hinkley Point C, Britain's first new nuclear plant for a decade, is being financed 66.5 percent by the French utility company Electricite de France, with a Chinese consortium led by CGN providing the rest.

In another project, Sizewell C, China and France will work together on the pre-development phase, and at the Bradwell B power station Chinese-designed technology in the shape of the Hualong One reactor is expected to be used.

The partnership with the French companies will help China to explore more third-party markets to develop medium- and high-level reactors, experts said.

lyuchang@chinadaily.com.cn