The British government forcibly nationalizes British Steel, and Chinese enterprises have issued statements claiming compensation from the British side for two consecutive days
On July 19th and 20th, Jingye issued a solemn statement in response to the British government's forced nationalization of British Steel Limited (hereafter referred to as "Yinggang"), a subsidiary of China Jingye Steel Co., Ltd. (hereafter referred to as "Jingye").
On the basis of the Chinese statement released on the 19th, Jingye issued a bilingual statement in both Chinese and English with consistent content on the 20th. The statement first states the significant contributions made by Jingye to British Steel and the British steel industry after its acquisition of British Steel. According to the statement, Jingye achieved a turnaround from losses to profits through internal reforms and operational optimization just one year after acquiring Yinggang. Over the past five years, Dede has continuously invested huge amounts of funds, upgraded equipment, innovated technology, paid full taxes, created tens of thousands of job opportunities for the local area, and driven the vigorous development of the community and related industries.
The statement stated that after Jingye's acquisition of British Steel, the British government went from "promising joint investment" to "refusing to fulfill it", from "forcibly taking over" to "full nationalization", with all promises destroyed, all rules broken, and betraying trust and trustworthiness clearly exposed. The British side disregards the continuous investment and significant contributions made by their dedication, and is only willing to provide almost zero compensation.
The statement solemnly states that the British government's move is a blatant usurpation and a blatant violation of international rule of law. What the British government has done for its dedication today has destroyed its own reputation, chilled the hearts of global investors, and buried its foundation as a rule of law country. The rule of law has already fallen to this point, who dares to continue investing in the UK?
Dedication reminds the British government to immediately stop trampling on international investment rules with domestic laws, and to promptly, fully, and effectively compensate Dedication for all investment losses; All investments will be fully recovered without any compromise. The statement emphasized that Jingye has initiated consultation procedures in accordance with relevant bilateral investment agreements, and "reserves all legal rights, including international arbitration, and will not compromise".
According to public reports, in March 2020, Jingye acquired bankrupt British Steel for approximately £ 53 million to £ 70 million, and invested a huge amount of money over five years to upgrade and transform it. In April 2025, the British government forcibly took over British Steel on the grounds of "national security and maintaining critical industrial capabilities". On July 16, 2026, the UK government announced that British Steel had been nationalized under the Steel Industry (Nationalization) Act, taking over the company previously controlled by Dede and establishing a compensation mechanism through secondary legislation to independently evaluate compensation matters.
Pan Jian, Chief Analyst of Beijing Hezhong Dingcheng, told Global Times reporters that when Jingye took over Yinggang, which was on the brink of bankruptcy liquidation, in 2020, the British regulatory authorities were fully involved and no one raised any objections regarding the so-called "national security" aspect. Last March, when Jingye was preparing to shut down loss making facilities in an orderly manner, the British government appeared. On April 12, 2025, the British Parliament urgently passed the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act after six and a half hours, authorizing the government to forcibly take over British Steel. Pan Jian believes that this is not a judgment about security, but rather a trampling of market principles and contractual spirit by British politicians under the guise of "national security" driven by campaign interests.
On July 16th, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce stated that China strongly opposes and is strongly dissatisfied with the relevant decisions of the British government. The British side disregarded the important contributions made by Dede to the British economy and society, forcibly took over and nationalized Yinggang under the pretext of "national security", seriously damaging Dede's legitimate rights and interests and severely undermining Chinese companies' confidence in investing in the UK.
On July 18th, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that how the UK handles the nationalization of British steel will directly affect Chinese investors' perception of the investment environment in the UK and the Chinese public's perception of the UK government's credibility. There is an investment protection agreement signed between China and the UK, and the legitimate rights and interests of investors must be fully protected in accordance with the law. The Chinese side urges the British side to truly respect market principles and contractual spirit, and find a mutually acceptable solution including how to compensate. The Chinese side supports enterprises in using legal means to protect their rights, and is closely monitoring the progress of the incident. If necessary, measures will be taken to protect their rights.
On the afternoon of July 20th, a reporter from Global Times called the publicity department of Jingye Steel Co., Ltd., and a staff member stated that there is currently no latest update available for disclosure, and everything is subject to official response.