The Trump administration really does not want a Chinese company to buy the Westinghouse nuclear business

A view of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania.
(Image credit: Jeff Fusco/Getty Images)

The Trump administration is reportedly plotting to head off Chinese investors' likely attempts to buy the bankrupt Westinghouse Electric Co. from parent company Toshiba Corp. in order to protect its nuclear secrets, Bloomberg reports.

Half of the more than 430 nuclear power stations around the world use Westinghouse technology; the company is responsible for building and maintaining reactors in the United States. Westinghouse has long been a target of Chinese espionage, most recently when the China General Nuclear Power Corp. was indicted in 2016 for conspiring to steal restricted technology.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.