BEIJING — After taking a step back in the wake of Japan’s nuclear disaster this year, energy-hungry China is moving cautiously ahead with its ambitious nuclear energy program.

That is the message that Chinese officials have been giving to visiting environmental experts and local news media. According to a statement posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the vice minister, Li Ganjie, told a visiting delegation from the United States that China had completed an inspection of the country’s 13 nuclear power plants. The statement implied that the plants had passed the test, which was announced in April after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster in Japan.

By October, Mr. Li said, the ministry will have tested 28 plants under construction. Until those inspections are completed, he said, China will not approve the plants for operation.

The decision to move forward was not a surprise. With China’s energy demand estimated to be rising by 12 percent a year, the country’s leaders have declared nuclear power to be an important part of China’s energy future.