China to do what is necessary to protect its rights after the UK nationalizes British Steel: spokesperson
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
China supports enterprises in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests through legal means, said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, adding that China is closely following the developments after the UK nationalized British Steel and will do what is necessary to protect its rights.
The spokesperson made the remarks on Saturday when asked to comment on the UK’s move to nationalize British Steel.
According to reports, the UK government announced on Thursday that it had nationalized British Steel in accordance with the Steel Industry (Nationalization) Act, taking over the enterprise previously controlled by China’s Jingye Group, and will establish a compensation mechanism through secondary legislation, with an independent assessment to determine whether compensation is needed. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that this decision safeguards the future of the UK’s steel industry and protects skilled jobs.
“Let me stress that this matter has drawn close attention from the Chinese public,” the spokesperson said, noting that how the UK handles this matter will directly influence how Chinese investors view the investment environment in the UK and the UK government’s credibility.
The spokesperson said that China and the UK have signed an agreement concerning the protection of investments, and the legitimate rights and interests of investors must be fully protected in accordance with the law.
“China urges the UK to earnestly respect market principles and the spirit of contract, and find solutions on compensation and other issues acceptable to both sides,” the spokesperson added.
On Friday, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said China firmly opposes and expresses strong dissatisfaction over the UK government’s decision to nationalize British Steel.
Reference Link:- https://english.news.cn/20260718/ca4b603ed9584b81b5721702512c939b/c.html
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
