Steel, energy, sports cars: How China poured more than $100bn into Britain

Steel, energy, sports cars: How China poured more than $100bn into Britain

Spending has slowed since 2017 peak, but Beijing retains significant investments across the UK

Steel, energy and sports cars: how China poured over $100bn into Britain - Business Fast

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The UK government’s decision to seize control of British Steel from Chinese owner Jingye has led to demands for greater scrutiny of China’s investments in the country. But unpicking decades of spending by Beijing and Chinese businesses across the British economy would be difficult: more than $100bn of Chinese investment h…

The UK government has temporarily taken operational control of British Steel, in response to Chinese owner Jingye Group’s decision to stop supplying critical raw materials to its Scunthorpe blast furnaces. The move has raised concerns about the UK’s dependence on Chinese investment in its strategic infrastructure. On 12 April, the UK Parliament passed the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 under emergency procedure, giving the Minister f…

UK Takes Cautious Approach to Future Chinese Steel Investments

In response to British Steel’s collapse, the UK government has passed an emergency law to nationalise it. This decision follows shocking news reports that the steel giant’s Chinese owner, Jingye, was going to close all of the company’s blast furnaces. British Steel just turned down a £500 million public funding offer. This decision was taken in order to keep the Scunthorpe site open. What led the government to intervene was the recent revelation…