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China condemns Britain's nationalisation of British Steel, cites Jingye rights

China condemns Britain's nationalisation of British Steel, cites Jingye rights

Beijing said the takeover seriously harmed Jingye's interests and could chill Chinese investment in Britain, while a compensation review may test investment protections between the two countries.

Fact Check
All core claims are corroborated by multiple independent authoritative outlets. Reuters and Al Jazeera confirm China's commerce ministry condemned the nationalisation as harming Jingye's rights and undermining Chinese investor confidence (the 'chilling' effect), and that Beijing invoked the China-UK Investment Protection Agreement while an independent valuer assesses compensation (the 'compensation review testing investment protections'). BBC, Guardian, and Anadolu Agency independently confirm the same events, with reporting that Jingye is seeking compensation.
Summary

China said it firmly opposes and strongly disapproves of Britain's nationalisation of British Steel, arguing the move damaged the interests of Jingye, the Chinese steelmaker that previously owned the company. The UK completed the takeover on July 16, 2026, bringing the Scunthorpe steelworks into public ownership after taking operational control in April 2025 under emergency legislation. Parliament later passed the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Act when no private buyer emerged. Beijing said the move seriously harmed Jingye's legitimate rights and interests, undermined Chinese companies' confidence in investing in Britain, and raised broader concerns for future foreign investment in the UK. Britain moved to preserve the country's last two blast furnaces capable of producing virgin steel and protect about 2,700 jobs, after the business continued losing more than 700,000 pounds per day despite more than 1.2 billion pounds of investment from Jingye since 2020. An independent evaluation is due to determine what compensation, if any, Jingye will receive, a process that could sharpen scrutiny of the China-UK investment protection framework.

Terms & Concepts
  • nationalisation: the transfer of a privately owned company or asset into state ownership
  • blast furnaces: large industrial furnaces used to make primary iron and steel from raw materials
  • China-UK investment protection framework: the bilateral legal protections governing how each country treats the other's investors