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U.S.-based corporation Westinghouse Electric Company has won $8 billion international tender for construction of four new nuclear power plants in China.

The tender also included Russia’s state-controlled company Atomstroyexport and French firm Areva. General Electric was excluded from the tender earlier because it makes boiling water reactors, instead of pressurized water reactors.

Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman of the United States and Ma Kai, the minister of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, signed a memorandum of understanding for the reactors in Beijing on Saturday. The deal calls for the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation to buy the reactors from Westinghouse Electric, which the Toshiba Corporation, based in Tokyo, bought earlier this year.

Neither side announced a value for the reactors. But outside analysts have suggested the total price tag may be $5 billion to $8 billion.

Some U.S. politicians have already expressed concern about the deal. Michael R. Wessel, a commissioner of the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which was created by Congress to review bilateral relations, expressed concern on Sunday that based on the broad outlines of the deal, “it appears they are doing what other companies have done, which is to transfer the technology upfront.”

Russia’s Atomstroyexport is currently working in China on building Tianwan NPP. The first power bloc began production of electricity in May 2006, while the second one is set to be commissioned in 2007. Tianwan NPP project boasts a lot of innovations from Russian nuclear scientists and technologists, but it was not enough to convince the Chinese government to award Russian company another deal. Nonetheless, the Russian company and its rivals still have a chance at further orders. The International Energy Agency predicted last month that by 2015 China’s nuclear power generation capacity would increase by 9,000 megawatts to 15,000 megawatts. Meanwhile, the four reactors ordered from Westinghouse will only account for 4,000 megawatt increase.

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