Chinese steel producer Jingye Steel has once again implored the UK government to "face up to its obligations under international law, respect objective facts and provide adequate compensation for all of the group's losses".

"This is the minimum that is owed to a responsible enterprise, and more importantly, a necessary defence of the basic standards underpinning the international legal order," the company says in a statement issued on August 25.

The matter relates to the full nationalisation of British Steel by the UK government.

Five years ago when British Steel stood on the brink of insolvency, Jingye decisively stepped in. Within a single year, it brought nine consecutive years of losses to an end. Over the past five years, Jingye has invested heavily in upgrading production lines, bringing previously outsourced operations back in-house and restoring blast furnaces.

At its peak, British Steel employed 4 887 workers, supported about 30 000 jobs upstream and downstream, while having paid a cumulative total £1.02-billion in wages and pensions, alongside £180-million in taxes.

Despite the relentless headwinds of the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit, the Russia/Ukraine war and the energy crisis, Jingye has remained true to its word, consistently creating value for British Steel and British society through concrete actions, thereby demonstrating the responsibility and commitment of a Chinese enterprise.

However, the UK government in July this year enacted emergency legislation to bring Jingye's UK assets entirely into State ownership, without providing fair compensation to date, as a matter of "public interest".

While Jingye respects the exercise of national rights by all countries in accordance with the law, it must be pointed out that the UK government's action of placing lawful foreign investment under State ownership through emergency legislation without prior consultation or compensation is inconsistent with the broad international consensus on compensation for expropriation. The UK government's conduct also undermines the fundamental fairness and mutual trust inherent in international investment relations.

Jingye warns that such practices may well have a long-term impact on global investor confidence in the UK's investment climate. The company is taking all necessary legal avenues to safeguard its lawful investment rights and interests in the UK.