A steel dome is hoisted onto the No 1 reactor at Haiyang nuclear power plant in Shandong province in March 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]

"It didn't take long for us (to move) from introducing this technology to exporting it," Wang said, adding that it indicates China has progressed rapidly and reached leading global levels in many areas of its high-technology equipment.

He said the country will take the security issues of all overseas nuclear projects very seriously and has adopted stringent standards after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011.

A report by Shenyin & Wanguo Securities Co said that after high-speed trains, nuclear technology will become another growth point for China's advanced-equipment manufacturing industry.

The nation is pushing its leading nuclear companies to improve their competitiveness and boost their presence overseas.

According to Chinese media reports, regulators have approved the merger of China Power Investment Corp and State Nuclear Power Technology Corp.

However, some observers believe that nuclear companies are unlikely to make progress in foreign markets as rapidly as producers of rolling stock.

Ma Yi, an expert at China Nuclear Power Engineering Co, said nuclear equipment involves specialized products. "There are tough demands from buyers, and relatively high technical and management levels are required to ensure security," Ma said.

Equipment exports in industries including electricity, telecommunications, petrochemicals and aviation all witnessed rapid growth last year.

Chinese equipment manufacturing exports reached 2.1 trillion yuan ($340 billion) last year, accounting for 17 percent of the country's exports for 2014.