Westinghouse wins China nuclear deal

U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric has won a two-year battle for a multibillion-dollar nuclear power deal with China, edging out French and Russian rivals to secure a contract that may help Beijing smooth ties with Washington.

The deal, estimated in the past at some $8 billion, should warm relations between the world's top two energy consumers, who have clashed lately over a range of issues from the yuan currency to the Chinese bid for US independent oil firm Unocal.

It will also reaffirm China - now a laggard in the nuclear sector - at the forefront of a global trend towards increased use of atomic power, touted by many nations as the cleanest, cheapest solution to the world's strained energy industry.

"(The agreement) represents a major step forward in our relations and will advance our bilateral trade relationship and the energy security of both our nations," US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said in a statement after signing the memorandum with Ma Kai, the chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's powerful energy policymaking body.

He said it would help the US balance of payments and create more than 5,500 US jobs. The United States had a record $202 billion trade deficit with China last year.