An agreement to build the fourth and fifth nuclear power plants in Argentina was signed on May 17, witnessed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Argentinean counterpart President Macri in Beijing's Great Hall of the People.

According to the agreement, construction will be started on a 700,000 kilowatt CANDU-6 pressurized heavy water reactor and a million-kilowatt Hualong-1 reactor in 2018 and 2020 respectively. The project will be jointly carried out by China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and Argentina’s Nuclearelectrica.

CNNC has exported eight nuclear power units to foreign countries to date. The group predicts that the newest agreement will create exports worth over 30 billion RMB ($4.4 billion).

Hualong-1 reactors meet all relevant technology requirements and possess full Chinese intellectual property rights as well as good export potential. They are currently being used for domestic construction while also being promoted to overseas markets.

Four Hualong-1 reactors are situated at the Fuqing nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province. They have also been deployed at another plant in Fangchenggang in southwestern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Argentina is home to three pressurized heavy water reactors. However, the third-generation technology, which uses light water reactors, is considered safer and more efficient than previous designs.