China has urged the British government to avoid politicizing the British Steel case, following comments by the UK trade minister criticizing the Chinese company’s takeover of the country’s last steelmaking plant.
China warned the UK government to treat the Chinese owners of British Steel fairly or risk undermining investor confidence in the country, two days after British authorities took control of the company.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry made the comment on Monday, as British government-appointed administrators rushed to prevent the company from shutting down Britain’s last two blast furnaces, which produce so-called virgin steel from raw materials.
Parliament passed legislation on Saturday authorizing the government to seize control of the company and its Scunthorpe steelworks from the Jingye Group, which has owned British Steel since 2020. Jingye remains the company’s owner, but British authorities have assumed day-to-day management of the company.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during the weekly press conference in Beijing: “We hope the British government will treat Chinese companies investing and operating in the UK fairly and justly, protect their legitimate rights and interests, and avoid politicizing and securitizing economic and trade cooperation, so as not to affect Chinese companies’ confidence in investing and cooperating in the UK.”
British Steel announced in a statement that the British government appointed a new executive team at British Steel on Monday to ensure “consistent and professional leadership” at its Scunthorpe mills in northeast England.
Alan Bell and Lisa Coulson, both veteran British Steel executives, were appointed interim chief executives and chief commercial officer. The appointments were approved by Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
Bell, who has worked at Scunthorpe for 14 years, said his primary goal is to ensure the continued production of steel at the mill.
Bell added in his statement: “Our immediate priorities are securing the raw materials needed to continue blast furnace operations, ensuring the skilled personnel are in place to operate them, and maintaining the highest levels of health and safety for our workforce.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer took a decisive step on Saturday by recalling Parliament from its spring recess to pass emergency legislation that would give the government control of British Steel. Authorities have expressed concern about the future of the plant after Jingye stopped ordering the iron ore and coke needed to power the furnaces.
Once blast furnaces are closed, restarting them is difficult and costly, raising concerns that Britain could lose the ability to produce the high-quality virgin steel needed by builders and railway companies as the government seeks to stimulate economic growth. Other British steelmakers are already switching to electric arc furnaces, which produce steel from scrap metal. Steel imports to the United States.
