British steel mill crisis casts a shadow on UK-China relations

Britain has sent a parade of senior officials to China this year, part of a calculated charm offensive to thaw out relations with a country that looms large in a world order upended by the United States under President Donald Trump.

- MARK LANDLER

But an emergency move by the Brit-ish Parliament last weekend to take control of a Chinese-owned British steel mill has struck a discordant note amid all the diplomacy. And it could raise deeper questions about Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s efforts to cultivate warmer ties with China, at a time when Trump’s tariffs are sowing fears about protectionism and fraying trade agreements worldwide.

Britain acted to prevent the Chinese company that owns the plant, in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, from shutting down two blast furnaces, which could have shuttered the plant, cost 2,700 jobs and left Britain reliant on other countries for what it considers a strategically important commodity.

The government's fruitless negotia-tions with the company, which refused subsidies to stay open, has prompted accusations of bad faith and even rumours of sabotage by the Chinese owner, which British officials rejected. But they are questioning whether other Chinese companies should be allowed to invest in sensitive industries.

“We have got to be clear about what is the sort of sector where actually we can promote and cooperate and ones, frankly, where we can’t) Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, told Sky News on Sunday. “I wouldn't personally bring a Chinese company into our steel sector”

Mr Reynolds said the Chinese com-pany, Jingye, had refused to order vital raw materials, knowing that this would lead to the closure of the mill, Britain's last big producer of crude steel used in construction projects.