Stories

Fri, 17 Jul 2026

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 China hits out at British Steel nationalisation

The UK government said taking the firm into public hands would safeguard "a vital national capability".

* China's commerce ministry has stated that it "firmly opposes and is strongly dissatisfied" with the UK government's decision to nationalize British Steel.
* The ministry claims that the move "seriously infringes upon Jingye's legitimate rights and interests" and "severely undermines the confidence of Chinese companies investing in the UK".
* China is calling on Britain to "faithfully fulfil" its obligations under the China-UK Bilateral Investment Treaty.
* Beijing will monitor developments closely and support Chinese firms to protect their rights, but did not specify what this might involve.
* The nationalization of British Steel has strained relations between London and Beijing, with the UK government arguing that it is necessary to protect jobs and a "vital national capability".
* China's Jingye Group is seeking compensation for the nationalization, having previously said that the business was losing £700,000 a day.