LONDON

Tensions between the UK and China have intensified after Beijing’s embassy in London accused British politicians of "arrogance, ignorance, and a twisted mindset" in the wake of escalating criticism over the future of British Steel.

The diplomatic spat follows the near-collapse of the Scunthorpe Steelworks, operated by British Steel, which has been owned by China’s Jingye Group since 2020.

The company threatened to shut down its blast furnaces last week, putting 2,700 jobs at risk.

The UK government intervened on Saturday with emergency legislation to take temporary control of the site and avert the shutdown.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has accused Jingye of not acting in good faith and warned against allowing Chinese investment in strategically sensitive sectors like steel.

“I wouldn’t personally bring a Chinese company into our steel sector,” Reynolds said on Sunday, adding that the UK had "got it wrong in the past" by welcoming Chinese involvement.

In response, China’s embassy published a rare statement on Wednesday in question-and-answer format, strongly defending Jingye and accusing unnamed UK public figures of slandering both the Chinese government and its businesses.

“The anti-China rhetoric of some individual British politicians is extremely absurd, reflecting their arrogance, ignorance and twisted mindset,” the embassy wrote.

It credited Jingye with saving jobs when it bought British Steel in 2020, after its previous owner, Greybull Capital, walked away. It called the company’s recent decision to close the blast furnaces “a normal decision” given mounting financial losses.

The embassy also warned that the political fallout could have wider consequences for bilateral trade and investment.

“Any words or deeds that politicize or maliciously hype up business issues will undermine the confidence of Chinese business investors in the UK and damage China-UK economic and trade cooperation,” it stated.

While key ministers like Reynolds have raised national security concerns, the Labour government has also been actively seeking inward investment from China.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves visited Beijing in January for economic talks, and Reynolds himself is scheduled to visit China later this year.

The Chinese embassy also drew comparisons with the muted UK response to US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel, questioning what it called the UK’s double standards.

"At a time when the US is wielding the tariff stick against all countries, the UK included, and engaging in unilateral and protectionist trade bullying, those British politicians just keep slandering the Chinese government and Chinese enterprises instead of criticizing the United States. What on earth are they up to?" it said.