According to the Ministry of Commerce website, on July 28, Wang Wentao, Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, held a video call with the new British Trade Secretary, Royalties, to exchange views on Sino-British economic and trade relations.
Wang Wentao congratulated Reynolds on his new position, expressing the willingness to fully leverage the mechanism of the China-UK Economic and Trade Liaison Committee to promote the healthy development of China-UK economic and trade relations. The Chinese side is willing to increase cooperation with the UK, strengthen cooperation in services, green transformation, renewable energy, and other areas, promote balanced bilateral trade, and maintain a multilateral trading system centered around the World Trade Organization. The Chinese side pays close attention to the issue of UK steel nationalization, urges the UK to comply with relevant international rules, effectively fulfill the obligations under the China-UK Investment Protection Agreement, and handle this matter prudently and carefully, creating a favorable business environment for Chinese enterprises in the UK.
Reynolds stated that good economic and trade relations between the UK and China would benefit both enterprises and people. The UK agrees with China's approach to promoting a balanced bilateral trade relationship. The UK hopes to deepen practical cooperation with China in areas such as service trade, climate change, and artificial intelligence, and to strengthen coordination and cooperation within the World Trade Organization. The UK understands and values China's concerns regarding steel issues. The UK will hire third-party assessment agencies to conduct independent evaluations in accordance with relevant laws. The UK will strictly adhere to the results of these evaluations and provide reasonable compensation. The UK does not wish for this matter to affect the overall situation of UK-China economic and trade relations.
According to reports, in March 2020, Jingye Group acquired British Steel at a price of approximately £50 million to £70 million. At that time, British Steel was on the verge of bankruptcy proceedings. Jingye Iron and Steel Limited (hereinafter referred to as “Jingye”) stated that after the acquisition, Jingye invested substantial amounts of money over five years to upgrade old equipment, ensure payment of employees’ salaries, pay taxes in accordance with the law, and create tens of thousands of jobs.
In April 2025, the UK 'Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act' was passed through legislative procedures within a day and officially came into effect. Under this act, the British government gained direct authority to intervene in the operation of the steel industry, effectively taking control of the business decision-making processes.
In May 2026, the British government officially introduced the 'Steel Industry (Nationalization) Act', intending to nationalize the British steel industry through legislation.
On July 16th, the British government announced that it had passed relevant legislation and would nationalize the British steel company under the jurisdiction of Jingye Group.
On July 19th, Jingjie Group released the “Solemn Statement of Jingjie Iron and Steel Co., Ltd.”. It stated that since Jingjie acquired Ingsteel, the British government has shifted from “pledging to invest together” to “refusing to fulfill its promises”, and from “forcing control” to “total nationalization”. The promises made were completely broken, laws were violated, and deceit was blatant. The British side ignored Jingjie’s continuous investments and significant contributions, and only offered a compensation that was almost zero. Jingjie demands that the British side immediately stop violating international investment rules with domestic laws, and provide timely, sufficient, and effective compensation for all of Jingjie’s investment losses.
On the 18th, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the issue of the nationalization of British steel companies, stating that this matter has attracted great attention from the Chinese public. How the British handle this issue will directly affect Chinese investors' views on the investment environment in the UK, and also influence the Chinese public's perception of the credibility of the British government.
