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After years of intensive research and testing, China has manufactured its first sealing ring for reactor pressure vessels (RPV) on Sept. 26, marking the end of U.S. dominance in the component's production.

China’s National Energy Administration dispatched a team of nuclear experts on Sept. 26 to test the country’s first domestically manufactured C-shaped sealing rings, which were employed in the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. The component, which is a crucial part of the RPV, was proven to meet the standards for nuclear security, Thepaper.cn reported.

Due to technical difficulties in manufacturing C-shaped sealing rings, China had been importing the component from the U.S. As the only country capable of manufacturing RPV sealing components, the U.S. had a monopoly on the international market for RPV sealing rings, and was therefore able to run the price up. A set of sealing rings made in the U.S. costs 3 to 4 million RMB, while its Chinese counterpart costs just over 300,000 RMB, according to Thepaper.cn.

“After we produced our own C-shaped sealing rings, an American company reduced the price of their products by 50 percent, which is an unprecedented move since they used to raise the price 15 percent annually,” said Li Xinggen, director of Ningbo Tiansheng Sealing Pack, in an interview with China Nuclear Industry Magazine. Li’s company has successfully manufactured the C-shaped sealing rings.