The Ministry of Commerce may ask the customs authorities to detain and inspect suspicious cargo. For goods and cargo beyond the supervisory capacity of customs, the Ministry of Commerce may seal them up and ask relevant departments to carry out further inspections.

The revision also clarified the penalties and fines for transgressors. Those who smuggle nuclear goods and technologies or counterfeit trade export licenses will face hefty fines.

If the turnover is less than 50,000 yuan (6,579 US dollars), transgressors will be fined from 50,000 yuan to 250,000 yuan.

Unlike the previous regulations which required State Council approval for the modification of the nuclear export control list, the Ministry of Commerce will have the authority to make regular adjustments in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency and other members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

China joined the NSG in 2004 and is one of seven countries known to have a nuclear weapon capacity along with the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, India and Pakistan.

Statistics from the Melbourne-based Uranium Information Center showed that by January 2007, 57 countries operate civil research reactors, and 30 have 435 commercial nuclear power reactors with a total installed capacity of over 370,000 MWe. This is more than three times the total generating capacity of France and Germany from all sources.

Some 30 further power reactors are under construction, equivalent to six percent of the existing capacity while over 60 are firmly planned, equivalent to 18 percent of the present capacity.

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