LONDON — The U.K. government’s nationalization of British Steel this week will cool Chinese firms’ interest in investing in Britain, Beijing has warned London.
In one of his last acts as prime minister, Keir Starmer used new powers to take British Steel into public ownership on Wednesday.
The move is “severely undermining” to Chinese companies’ confidence in U.K. investments, a spokesperson for Beijing’s commerce ministry told reporters in a press conference on Friday, arguing the move is also “severely damaging” to the firm’s previous owners, Chinese steel giant Jingye.
“Disregarding Jingye’s significant contributions to the British economy and society, the British side, under the guise of national security, forcibly took over and subsequently nationalized British Steel,” Beijing’s spokesperson said.
