China warned the UK government on Monday that two days after British officials took control of the company, British Steel’ would treat Chinese owners fairly or risk damaging investors' trust in the country.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry made this comment as government-appointed executives raced to prevent British Steel’ from shutting down its last two blast furnaces in Britain, which produce unprocessed steel from raw materials in ’.
Parliament on Saturday passed legislation authorizing the government to take control of the company and its Scunthorpe steel plants from Jingye Group’, which has owned British Steel’ since 2020. Jingye still owns the company, but British authorities have taken control of day-to-day operations.
"We hope that the British government will treat Chinese companies that invest and operate in ’ in a fair and equitable manner, protect their legitimate rights and interests, and refrain from politicizing and over-security of economic and commercial cooperation so as not to affect the confidence of Chinese businesses in investing and cooperating in “ in the United Kingdom," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a weekly press conference in ’, Beijing.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’'s spokesman Dave Pares said on Monday that although Jingye’ is still the owner of Scunthorpe facilities in Northeast England, expropriation of ’ is a likely option in the short term. He added that the government hopes to find a private investor in the long run.
British Steel announced on Monday that Scunthorpe’ has appointed a new executive team focused on providing “ with consistent and professional leadership.
Allan Bell and Lisa Coulson, two longtime executives of British Steel’, have been appointed interim CEO’ and chief commercial officer of the company. The appointments were approved by Trade Minister Jonathan Reynolds.
Bell, who has worked at the Scunthorpe steel plant for 14 years, said his main goal was to ensure the continuation of steel production at the plant.
"Our immediate priorities are to secure the raw materials we need to continue blast furnace operations, ensure we have dedicated personnel to operate these furnaces, and maintain the highest levels of health and safety for our workforce," Bell said in a statement.
Starmer took a dramatic step on Saturday by recalling Parliament from the spring break to pass the emergency law authorizing the government to take control of British Steel’. Officials were worried about the plant's future after Jingye’ stopped ordering the iron ore and coking coal needed to keep the furnaces running.
The fact that it is difficult and expensive to restart after the blast furnaces are closed raises concerns that ’ may lose its ability to produce the high-quality unprocessed steel needed by builders and railways, as the government seeks to stimulate economic growth. Other British steelmakers are already in the process of switching to electric arc furnaces that produce steel from scrap metal.
Pares said the government is now confident that the plant will get the raw materials it needs to continue working for now. Shipments of iron ore pellets and coking coal have reached Immingham port and will reach Scunthorpe’, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away in the coming days, London’da told reporters.
