China protests UK takeover of British Steel, cites 1986 treaty
Why it matters: London now controls a plant with 2,700 direct jobs as Beijing weighs how to defend Jingye’s investment rights.
China criticized Britain’s move to take British Steel into public ownership, arguing the seizure of Jingye’s business was carried out under a national security rationale and breached investor protections. Beijing urged the UK to honor the 1986 China-UK Bilateral Investment Treaty and said it would keep watching the case while supporting Chinese companies’ rights. Britain moved after Parliament passed legislation letting the government nationalize steel assets in the public interest. Ministers said talks with Jingye failed to produce a deal that offered value for taxpayers. The Scunthorpe steelworks employs about 2,700 people, and officials say compensation will be assessed by an independent valuer in the autumn and could be zero.