Beijing 'Strongly Dissatisfied' as UK nationalises British Steel

China's government formally objects to the nationalisation of British Steel, warning it undermines Chinese investment confidence in the UK.

Beijing 'Strongly Dissatisfied' as UK Takes Control of British Steel

London, July 17, 2026 – China's government has formally objected to the UK's decision to nationalise British Steel, warning the move undermines Chinese companies' confidence in investing in Britain.

The UK government announced on Thursday it had brought the loss-making steelmaker into public ownership to protect jobs and safeguard what Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called "a vital national capability" . The nationalisation followed Parliament passing the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Act 2026 .

British Steel had been owned by China's Jingye Group since 2020. In a statement on Friday, China's Ministry of Commerce said Jingye had "injected substantial capital" into the company after acquiring it, sustaining operations and preserving jobs . The ministry accused the UK of "forcibly taking control of the company in the name of national security" and said this "seriously infringed upon Jingye's legitimate rights and interests" .

"We firmly oppose and are strongly dissatisfied with the British government's decision," the ministry said, calling on the UK to "faithfully fulfil" its obligations under the China-UK Bilateral Investment Treaty .

In its written statement to Parliament, the government said commercial negotiations with Jingye over a potential acquisition had taken place but "it was not possible to reach an agreement that represented value to the taxpayer" . The government's view, it added, is that the commercial value of the business today, "given its history of loss making and its current poor financial position, is nil" . An independent valuer will assess what compensation, if any, is owed .

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said nationalisation was the alternative to letting the business go bust. "If that business disappears, we will lose the ability for primary steel production in our country," he said .

Jingye has begun seeking compensation, having previously said the business was losing £700,000 a day . The National Audit Office estimated in March that the Scunthorpe steelworks was costing the government about £1.3 million a day to keep operational .

The decision could strain UK-China relations just as Andy Burnham is set to become prime minister on Monday .