China attacks ‘arrogant and twisted' MPs over British Steel

Telegraph

16-04-2025

China has attacked MPs for their 'arrogance, ignorance and twisted mindset' amid a growing diplomatic row over British Steel.
A spokesman for Beijing's embassy in London criticised the 'anti-China rhetoric' of certain politicians and warned it could damage economic and trade cooperation between Britain and the Communist country.
In a statement, he said British Steel's plan to close its blast furnaces and build electric arc furnaces instead was a 'normal decision' and had only happened as a result of Ed Miliband's net zero plans.
The spokesman warned instead of 'slandering the Chinese government and Chinese enterprises', MPs should be criticising Donald Trump over tariffs.
He said: 'Any words or deeds that politicise or maliciously hype up business issues will undermine the confidence of Chinese business investors in the UK and damage China-UK economic and trade cooperation.'
The comments threaten to deepen a diplomatic rift with Beijing after the Government stepped in to prevent British Steel's Chinese owner Jingye from shutting blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe plant.
A number of MPs, led by former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, have called on the Government to ban China from owning any more critical infrastructure in the UK.
Earlier this week, Sir Iain said: 'This is a country which is committing genocide and where there is slave labour, the forced sterilisation of Uyghur women… They are about to dump steel, electric cars and batteries into our country.'
On Sunday, Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, said he did not want to see another company from China in control of the steel firm.
He also accused Jingye of trying to shut down the British steel industry following claims from unions the company had cancelled orders for vital raw materials.
Government officials were forced to take control of the Scunthorpe site and ensure vital raw materials were delivered in time to keep the blast furnaces going.
The spat threatens to jeopardise the Government's efforts to strike a new partnership with the Chinese.
Sir Keir Starmer was the first British Prime Minister in six years to meet China's leader Xi Jinping, while Mr Reynolds will visit the country for high-level trade talks later in the year.
The spokesman for the Chinese embassy in London said: 'The anti-China rhetoric of some individual British politicians is extremely absurd, reflecting their arrogance, ignorance and twisted mindset.
He went on to state 'basic facts' about British Steel, which he said undermined the views of Sir Iain and others.
'The Jingye Group is a private Chinese enterprise that makes business investments in the UK on the basis of market principles and conducts operation on its own,' he said.
'It is well-known that British Steel had been losing money for many years before its acquisition by Jingye in 2020 and actually went into compulsory liquidation in 2019.
'After taking over, Jingye put in substantial funding to keep the company afloat to this day. Had it not been for the involvement of this Chinese company, British Steel workers might have already faced the risk of unemployment.'
He said: 'It is understood that under the UK government's net zero strategy, steel companies that use iron ore to make steel must achieve net zero emissions by 2035.
'To that end, British steel companies including British Steel have all negotiated with the government to find a path to decarbonisation transition.'
The spokesman said that 'generally speaking', Chinese companies in the UK have operated in compliance with law and achieved steady progress.
Chinese companies in Britain have contributed over '£115 billion to the UK economy and created nearly 60,000 jobs,' he said.
The spokesman said: 'At a time when the US is wielding the tariff stick against all countries, the UK included, and engaging in unilateral and protectionist trade bullying, those British politicians just keep slandering the Chinese government and Chinese enterprises instead of criticising the United States. What on earth are they up to?'
He added: 'We urge the British government to follow the principles of fairness, impartiality and non-discrimination and to make sure that the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies in the UK are protected.
'At the same time, it is hoped that the British government will continue to engage in consultations and negotiations with Jingye to actively seek a solution acceptable to all parties. We will continue to follow the development of this situation.'
'Ban China from owning UK infrastructure'
Earlier this week, Sir Iain called on the Government to bar China from owning any national infrastructure at all, such as nuclear power stations.
He said: 'We cannot have other nations which are not part of the alliance owning Britain's national infrastructure,' he said.
'We cannot continue allowing access to countries which do not play by the rules, and which do not have democracy and the rule of law.
'Not just steel but nuclear, the manufacture of high tech equipment, tanks and engineering, aircraft manufacture.
'All these things have got to be run in the UK and we should only welcome investment from countries we can trust.'
Zengwei An, chief executive of Jingye British Steel, said since his company acquired the business on March 9, 2020 'we have stayed unwavering in our commitment to improving the operation and sustainable development of British Steel'.
He said: 'We have made crucial project investments to ensure British Steel's normal production and operation. Despite unprecedented challenges such as Brexit, Covid-19 and the energy crisis, we have safeguarded over 4,800 jobs and provided high-quality products and services to domestic and international customers, thus contributing to the economic growth of local communities. This is a fact evident to all.
'We express our understanding for the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 the UK Government introduced on 12 April 2025.
'We will engage in active communication with the UK Government to seek a proper solution that ensures a bright future for British Steel. We request that the UK Government respect and protect the legitimate rights and interests of Jingye as a foreign investor throughout this process.'