At Karachi’s Paradise Point, on the coastline of Pakistan, China’s long-term ambition for a world-leading nuclear energy industry is coming into view.

For nearly half a century, power at the site — Pakistan’s first nuclear operation — was delivered by Canadian-designed reactors. But, last year, Pakistani nuclear officials gave their final approval for new Hualong-1 reactors, which represent the first exports of China National Nuclear Corporation’s third-generation power station technology.

By March, Xu Pengfei, chair of the China Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation, was able to tell CGTN, China’s state broadcaster, that the units were “operating successfully”, and had demonstrated a “collaborative effort at innovation”, with domestic suppliers providing more than 90 per cent of the equipment.