Chairman Wu "impressed" by ITER
Amongst the books that sit on the desk of Wu Bangguo's office in Beijing, one bears the title: The Oil Crisis.
Wu Bangguo, who visited ITER on Tuesday 13 July, has chaired the Standing Committee of the National People Congress (NPC) of China for the past seven years. One understands that the energy issue is of particular interest to him.
Under Wu Bangguo's leadership, the NPC ratified the ITER Agreement in August 2007. "Three years ago," said ITER Director-General Kaname Ikeda in his welcome address, "you set this unique science endeavour into motion."
Since then, as ITER Deputy Director-General Shaoqi Wang summarized in his presentation, impressive progress has been made. The ITER Organization is now fully established, the design of ITER is finalized and manufacturing of the various components is in full swing all around the globe.
"I am very impressed by the scale of the project and the scope of the international collaboration," said Wu Bangguo. "ITER," he added "represents our hope in the energy of the future."
"Developing fusion as a reliable source of large-scale energy remains a tremendous challenge," said Kaname Ikeda. "It requires (...) the unfailing political will of the world's leading nations".
Chairman Bangguo's visit to ITER, last Tuesday, was a sure sign of that commitment.