China protests against British government project that removes British Steel from command of the Hebei Jingye group
The UK government presented to Parliament on Thursday (May 14, 2026) a bill that would allow the nationalization of , leading China’s Ministry of Commerce to speak out to protect the legitimate rights of the company’s Chinese owner.
The Steel Industry (Nationalization) Bill gives the government the power to nationalize British Steel and other steel companies if deemed necessary and in the public interest.
The government stated that the legislation aims to safeguard the national industry and guarantee sovereignty over steel production. It is based on a national steel strategy, presented in March, which aims to meet up to 50% of national steel demand with domestic production, in order to strengthen economic resilience.
The legislative measure paves the way for the completion of nationalization, after the United Kingdom took de facto control of its last virgin steel producer, belonging to the group, last year. It also highlights the growing friction between London and Beijing over state intervention and the protection of Chinese investments abroad.
In response to the bill’s introduction, China’s Ministry of Commerce stated that the UK government should recognize the massive investments made by the Chinese owner.
The ministry called on London to avoid abuse of administrative powers and work with Jingye to find a fair and mutually acceptable solution.
“Beijing will closely monitor the situation and take strong measures to protect the legal rights of Chinese companies”said the Chinese ministry.
Jingye acquired British Steel in March 2020 for around 53 million pounds (almost $70 million), taking control of a company with an annual crude steel production capacity of 4.5 million tons. Over the next 5 years, the Chinese company invested more than 1.2 billion pounds, despite daily losses of approximately 700 thousand pounds.
Conflict erupted on March 27, 2025, when British Steel announced consultations on the closure of its 2 blast furnaces — the last 2 in operation in the United Kingdom. To avoid closures, the government hastily passed the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Law in parliament in a single day, in April 2025, authorizing nationalization.
Chen Sheng, a researcher at the Center for Foreign Legal Studies at Northwest University of Political Science and Law, told at the time that although Jingye maintained nominal ownership, its control had effectively been nullified — it was excluded from decision-making processes, prevented from freely utilizing assets, unable to achieve investment returns and without access to a detailed compensation mechanism.
Since taking control, the UK government has said it has sought a commercially viable sales agreement with Jingye, but negotiations have failed. Keeping British Steel afloat, however, has become a costly burden, with the government allocating £419 million by the end of March to sustain operations.
British Steel has been posting losses every year since 2021. A House of Commons Library report released in April cited falling steel prices, high energy costs, unstable blast furnace operations and an adverse trading environment as key factors.
In 2023, British Steel recorded an operating loss of £205 million. At the end of that year, the company held £788 million in total assets against £1.04 billion in liabilities.
This text was originally published by Caixin Global, on May 15, 2026. The content is free for republication, citing the source, it was adapted to the Poder360.
