China’s Hebei Jingye Group has formally condemned the UK government’s nationalization of British Steel, calling the move an “unlawful expropriation” of its assets and warning that it will pursue full compensation through international arbitration.
In a statement released on Sunday July 19 that circulated widely on Chinese social media and was picked up by major domestic media outlets, Chinese firm Hebei Jingye said the UK government had reneged on earlier commitments to jointly invest in the steelmaker before moving to a compulsory takeover and, ultimately, full nationalization.
The statement follows the UK government’s completion of British Steel’s nationalization on July 16, after legislation proposed in May 2026 came into force. It also follows China’s Ministry of Commerce publicly criticizing the move on July 17, when it accused the UK government of harming the legitimate rights and interests of Jingye as the plant’s Chinese owner.
“Not a single missed wage payment,” Jingye says
In the statement, Jingye laid out its version of its five-year ownership of British Steel, saying it had rescued the company from the brink of insolvency when it acquired the business in 2020, returned it to profitability within a year, and continued to invest in upgrading equipment and technology through the pandemic, Brexit, the Russia-Ukraine war and a period of high inflation. The company said it paid taxes in full, supported thousands of local jobs, and did not miss a single wage payment or make a compulsory redundancy over that period.
Jingye said the UK government’s compensation offer for the seized assets was close to negligible relative to its investment and cited UK National Audit Office figures showing government spending on British Steel’s operations had already reached £377 million ($508 million) by the end of January 2026, with costs projected to exceed £600 million by the end of June and potentially surpass £1.5 billion by 2028.
The company said it had launched consultation procedures under the applicable China-UK bilateral investment treaty and reserved the right to pursue international arbitration, adding that it would also seek to hold UK officials and British Steel’s management accountable for what it called a hastily executed takeover carried out “without adequate preparation or a viable operating plan.”
Trader reaction
Market sources contacted by Fastmarkets pointed to the scale of Jingye’s investment in the business, including plans that were never realized.
“Jingye put in a lot of money and technology and was even planning to build sintering plants overseas to supply raw materials to British Steel. It’s disappointing to see things end this way after that level of commitment,” one China-based source said.
Another trader source noted that British Steel’s financial performance had remained weak for much of Jingye’s ownership. British Steel had continued to post annual losses through much of the period Jingye controlled it, the source said, even as the company invested in the plant.
“It feels like Jingye ended up holding the bag for a business that was always going to be a tough turnaround,” the source added.
Jingye’s statement has not yet specified a timeline for initiating arbitration proceedings or the scale of compensation it intends to seek.
