China demands compensation as British Steel nationalisation deepens UK dispute

Chinese-owned Jingye Group on Sunday demanded compensation from the United Kingdom over the nationalisation of British Steel, accusing London of "trampling on international investment rules" and calling for "prompt, full and effective" reimbursement for losses incurred by the takeover (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/19/why-is-a-chinese-company-protesting-over-uk-nationalising-a-steel-plant).

The UK government took operational control of the company last week after Jingye warned it might close the blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe plant in northern England — the last in the country able to make "virgin steel" from raw materials. The Department for Business and Trade said the move would save thousands of jobs and protect the national interest by securing domestic steel for construction and defence (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/19/why-is-a-chinese-company-protesting-over-uk-nationalising-a-steel-plant).

China's Ministry of Commerce said the UK had "forcibly taken over and then nationalised" British Steel in the name of national security, "seriously damaging" Jingye's legitimate rights and "seriously undermining" Chinese investor confidence. Beijing said it would closely monitor developments and take appropriate measures to safeguard its interests if warranted (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/19/why-is-a-chinese-company-protesting-over-uk-nationalising-a-steel-plant).

Jingye said the UK had spent 377 million pounds (about $507m) to keep British Steel running as of the end of January, and expected the total to have exceeded 600 million pounds by the end of June and possibly more than $2bn by 2028. The company said it had been offered "almost zero compensation" for the takeover (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/19/why-is-a-chinese-company-protesting-over-uk-nationalising-a-steel-plant).

The dispute arrives as Labour's Andy Burnham is expected to succeed Keir Starmer as prime minister on Monday, potentially opening his first term with a standoff with China, one of the UK's largest trading partners. China and the UK signed a bilateral investment treaty in 1986 that includes protection from arbitrary expropriation without compensation — the clause Jingye is citing in its claim (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/19/why-is-a-chinese-company-protesting-over-uk-nationalising-a-steel-plant).

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