Bill Gates envisions nuclear future for nation

BEIJING / WASHINGTON - Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates confirmed on Wednesday that a company he helped found is cooperating on the development of a new type of nuclear reactor in China.

"TerraPower is working on what we call Generation-4 nuclear energy. And the idea is to be very low-cost, very safe and generate very little waste," Gates said at a news conference after he discussed cooperation with Ministry of Science and Technology officials in Beijing on Wednesday.

"It is in an early stage," Gates said.