China rebukes UK over nationalisation of British Steel

The UK has appropriated its past moving steelworks, pursuing fears its erstwhile Chinese owners would unopen it down.

Beijing has warned the United Kingdom that its nationalisation of British Steel has “severely undermined” Chinese companies’ assurance successful investing successful the UK.

The UK nationalised the loss-making institution connected Thursday successful what the authorities said was a determination taken to support nationalist interests.

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British Steel is the lone root of superior steelmaking successful the UK. It supports astir 2,700 jobs crossed its main steelworks successful Scunthorpe and crossed the wider proviso chain.

The company’s erstwhile owner, Jingye – which is among the 100 biggest companies successful China – bought British Steel for 70 cardinal pounds ($94m) successful 2020. By 2025, Jingye said it was losing 700,000 pounds ($942,000) each day.

British Steel’s nationalisation has been successful the works for much than a year.

In March 2025, Jingye carried retired a consultation that concluded that the British Steel furnaces were not financially sustainable. The pursuing month, it emerged that Jingye had cancelled orders for a cardinal worldly utilized successful the steelmaking process, stoking fears that it was readying to unopen down the blast furnaces.

That month, the UK authorities seized operational power of British Steel from Jingye to halt that from happening. The Chinese institution retained ownership, but mislaid operational control.

Thursday, though, saw ownership officially transportation to the UK government, which says it volition name an autarkic valuer to “assess whether immoderate compensation is payable” to Jingye.

The process has angered Beijing. The expropriation of British Steel “seriously damaged” Jingye’s morganatic rights and interests and “severely undermined” Chinese companies’ assurance successful investing successful the UK, China’s Ministry of Commerce said successful a connection connected Friday.

The UK, the ministry said, has “forcibly” taken implicit the institution and “disregarded” Jingye’s contributions to the British system and society.

The ministry urged the UK to fulfil obligations nether the China-UK Investment Protection Agreement and said it would assistance Chinese companies successful protecting their rights.