"Clearly, China is taking a global lead in nuclear power," he told students at Beijing's Tsinghua University.

"Beyond traditional fossil fuels, there are China's very impressive efforts to accelerate its supply of nuclear power," he said.

He based his assessment on a decision by China to increase its nuclear power generating capacity at least five-fold within the next 15 years.

"To achieve this, China is embracing the newest generation of nuclear reactors," Abraham said.

US-based Westinghouse is competing with France's Areva and Russia's AtomStroyExport for two multi-billion dollar contracts to build four 1,000 megawatt reactors, Chinese state media have reported.

A decision is expected in February.

These are just the first in what is likely to become a series of highly lucrative contracts as China implements its nuclear expansion program in the coming years.

By 2020, about four percent of China's total power output will be from nuclear power, up from just under two percent today, according to Chinese forecasts.

The ambitious plan is being implemented in an effort to overcome ongoing energy shortages and to build up alternatives to rampant coal use which is causing serious air pollution, acid rain and global warming.

Abraham said the United States and China, which account for a third of global energy consumption, should cooperate on securing that enough energy is available in the future.

"Because our two nations will drive the demand curve over the next 50 years, I think it would be wise to collaborate on ways to drive the supply curve as well, and lead the way in energy efficiency and technology," he said.

All rights reserved. copyright 2018 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.