Even before the Fukushima disaster last year, the Chinese nuclear industry was beset by a number of conflicts and safety warnings: the country`s top five electric utilities were trying to push into nuclear operations – something long limited to two smaller nuclear utilities; citizens were pushing back locally against some planned newbuild projects; the government was trying to decide between competing third generation technologies for its future fleet and competing inland sites for possible newbuild; foreign companies were asking for a comprehensive nuclear law, particularly one that would address the lack of liability legislation; the country was struggling in efforts to export Chinese reactors abroad; and the head nuclear regulator was warning of the ˝over-rapid expansion˝ of the nuclear sector. Since Fukushima many of these debates and problems and conflicts have only been exacerbated, and Beijing appears to have come to a stalemate on moving forward with new reactor approvals.