Beijing urged the United Kingdom on Monday not to “politicize” the British Steel file, after the statements of the British Minister of Commerce believing that the United Kingdom had been “naive” to let a Chinese firm take control of the country’s last high stoves, about to be closed.
“We hope that the British government will deal with Chinese companies investing and operating in the United Kingdom fairly and impartial,” Lin Jian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Monday.
He called London to “avoid politicizing economic and commercial cooperation or excessively linking it to security issues, so as not to start the confidence of Chinese companies that invest” in the United Kingdom.
The Minister of Commerce, Jonathan Reynolds, estimated on Sunday that his country had sinned by “naivety” by authorizing the acquisition in 2020, under the conservative government of Boris Johnson, of British Steel by the Chinese Jingye.
“We were wrong,” he said. “Personally, I will not enter a Chinese business into our steel sector (…) It is a very sensitive sector”.
Jingye announced at the end of March his intention to close his two high stoves of Scanthorpe (north of England), the last of the United Kingdom, for lack of profitability, a file in which 2,700 jobs are at stake.
– “Sabotage acte” –
After unsuccessful negotiations, the British government voted for emergency legislation on Saturday which forces British Steel to continue its activity, under penalty of sanctions, because the high stoves could no longer be reinforced if they were stopped.
The government said it was “confident” on Monday in its ability to supply them with coal, the owner of which had started to get rid of.
The government’s objective is to find a “private partner” to invest in the site, but the “most likely” remains a nationalization, according to the Secretary of State for the Treasury, James Murray.
“We need steel production capacity (…) for our national security,” he insisted.
Control by foreign companies of “essential infrastructure can present risks”, underlines Patrick Munnelly, analyst of Tickmill Group, for whom authorizing the acquisition of British Steel by Jingye “testifies to a short-term vision” of the United Kingdom.
Chinese companies and funds have participations in several British companies, in the water, energy or London Heathrow airport.
“We must be clear about the type of sector where we can cooperate and those, frankly, where we cannot”, according to Mr. Reynolds.
Some opposition British deputies suspected Beijing of interference, even accusing Jingye of “industrial sabotage”.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer replied “not to be aware” of any “deliberate sabotage act”.
– “Would Morte” –
In Scanthorpe, “morale is very low,” says Joane Cooper, a 57 -year -old saleswoman whose shop will lower the curtain. “More and more stores are closing, and if British Steel leaves, it will be even worse for the city, it is already quite dead.”
“The steelworks are our life buoy. It is like a vein, if you cut the artery, everything is exhausted,” abounds Jim Kirk, 66, who worked in the steel industry for 35 years.
Several companies, including the Indian steel giant Tata Steel, who died at the end of 2024 his last high furnace in Pays-de-Gales, offered their aid.
According to Mr. Murray, the site “lost 233 million pounds (269 million euros) per year”, but in the event of closure, costs by the government have exceeded “a billion pounds”.
British steel production is very low-5.6 million tonnes in 2023–but 37,000 jobs are dependent on the sector.
This one suffers like the rest of the world from an overcapacity which has dropped the prices, China, also engaged in a trade war with the United States, being largely pointed out. He also undergoes recent customs taxes of 25% decided by Donald Trump.
