The Chinese government has strongly condemned the UK’s full nationalisation of British Steel, calling the move a severe infringement on the rights of parent company Jingye Group. Beijing warned that the forced takeover heavily damages international trust and undermines the confidence of Chinese firms investing in British industries. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce urged London to honour its commitments under the 1986 China–UK Bilateral Investment Treaty, adding that it will support Jingye in pursuing legal remedies and full financial compensation.

The UK government moved forward with the buyout under the newly enacted Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Act 2026 to prevent an immediate shutdown of the Scunthorpe plant. Jingye had reported losses of £700,000 per day and planned to close the site's blast furnaces, which would have left the UK as the only G7 nation unable to produce primary steel. By taking full public ownership, the government aims to protect 2,700 manufacturing jobs and secure critical supply chains for national infrastructure projects.