Is China-US Energy Competition in 'House of Cards' True?

Does China monopolize 95 percent of the supply of Samarium-149 — a key element for nuclear power generation — in the U.S.? The truth is that this is just a plot device. In the real world, the U.S. is exporting nuclear technology to China. Some commentators suggest that by taking this action, the U.S. intends to reduce the competition between the two countries over conventional resources, thereby possibly cutting oil prices, which remain stubbornly high.

“House of Cards,” which is favored by senior leadership, has continued in its second season to be successfully broadcast in mainland China. As the story develops, the conflicts of interest between China and the U.S. are becoming more unavoidable. The battle over energy has been ready to break since the backroom nuclear power deals between China and the U.S. were mentioned at the end of the first season. The battle of wits over nuclear issues between Francis Underwood, the main character of the show, and Raymond Tusk, a magnate of nuclear power plants and counselor and close friend to the president, was very compelling.

Tusk supported Underwood for the vice president vacancy in hopes that, in exchange, Underwood would persuade the president not to take a tough line on China. Tusk did this because Samarium-149 was necessary for his nuclear power plants, and Chinese exports of the metal accounted for up to 95 percent of the global supply.

Watching this plot, fans have to marvel that China was so big in the global nuclear power industry! I would like to pour cold water on that here. The so-called 95 percent of Samarium-149 exports from China is purely a plot device. The reason is simple: If it were true, China would directly control the energy supply around the world. Why would China then still play games with the great powers, including the U.S., France, Germany and Russia?

Samarium-149 is a powerful neutron-absorbing substance and can effectively absorb the free neutrons released from the fuel rods in reactors. So it is an important raw material for the control rods in nuclear reactors. The 95 percent-supply figure really exaggerated the abilities of China. Spectators, don’t take it seriously.

Perhaps the editors of this American show embellished the story based on the following figures: China has the biggest reserves of rare earth elements in the world; the reserves that China has detected account for about 47 percent of total global reserves detected; and China mines and exports rare earth elements, including samarium, more than any other country (accounting for approximately 80 to 90 percent of global exports). To elaborate a little further, this does not mean there are no rare earth elements abroad, but rather that the cost of pollution is too high for other countries, while this is not a problem in China. I will not repeat this point here.

Back to energy issues. Let’s look at some China-U.S. energy affairs.

There are not many direct deals on energy between China and the U.S. because they stand on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean, and the U.S. bans most oil and natural gas exports. But China and the U.S. are the two largest energy consumers in the world, consuming 40 percent of global energy in total, with each accounting for 20 percent. They will inevitably contend for energy in the future. Now there are many instances of cooperation between China and the U.S., and behind them are many fists. China decided to introduce the AP1000 third-generation nuclear power technology of Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 2006 and began to construct two demonstration projects in Sanmen, Zhejiang Province and Haiyang, Shandong Province in 2009, with four megawatt nuclear electric-generating units in total. The first unit has not generated electricity — yet. According to some commentators, the U.S. released nuclear technology to China in order to encourage China to use more nuclear power, thus reducing the competition over conventional resources between the two countries and possibly cutting oil prices, which remain high. In addition, the Obama administration is depressed by the progress China has made in renewable energy technology in recent years, so trade wars like anti-dumping and countervailing investigations on Chinese photovoltaic products were triggered.

The energy games between China and the U.S. may have wider geopolitical influence, e.g., the contests between energy exporters including the Middle East, Central Asia and South America. The energy giant Russia must also surely be included in the contest.

Has Obama abandoned nuclear power?

In reality, the electricity generated from nuclear power in the U.S. always ranks first in the world. But the Fukushima nuclear disaster on March 11, 2011 made it more difficult for U.S. nuclear enterprises to sell nuclear power worldwide. Plus, the U.S. relies on the exports from China for the raw materials of nuclear power, which increases the uncertainty for future development. The U.S. is therefore beginning to seek diversification of its energy policies.

Obama began to express his support for domestic exploitation of shale gas and shale oil in 2011. In the 2012 State of the Union address, he declared that the U.S. encouraged shale gas development. Shale gas will help Americans meet power demands over the next 100 years and will provide the U.S. with 600,000 job opportunities within a decade. As for energy issues, a nice slogan cannot match real, cheap supply.

“House of Cards” also describes a similar plot: When the watershed act that could create 5,000 green job opportunities was going to be used as a touchstone by Congressman Peter Russo, who was elected from the South Philadelphia area to run for Pennsylvania governor, it suffered fierce opposition from SanCorp. Not only did SanCorp successfully hinder the act, but it also persuaded Russo, the puppet controlled by Underwood, to support the natural gas (or shale gas) drilling plan in Pennsylvania.

But the demand for nuclear power in China could be seen as rigid. At present, the electricity generated from nuclear power in China accounts for only 2 percent of total electricity generation. With the haze problem forcing energy restructuring, China restarted nuclear power development in 2014. This was clearly stated in Premier Li Keqiang’s government work report. A plan by the National Energy Administration indicates that an additional 8.64 million kilowatts of nuclear power capacity will be installed by the end of 2014, and the approval of key nuclear power projects will start at an appropriate time.

Therefore, politicians in “House of Cards” took advantage of energy issues for commercial transaction and to upset their opponents. These are truths, but with regard to China-U.S. energy issues, they were not portrayed completely accurately in the show, though the embellishment is understandable for plot reasons. Many people may begin to focus on energy issues due to “House of Cards,” and that makes me feel relieved.