Économie · UK nationalizes steel · ArchivesLa Grande-Bretagne retire son dernier haut fourneau des mains chinoises, Pékin réplique en moins d'une journéeRédigé 7 septembre 2026 à 21:22 UTCRegarderTranscription0:00The United Kingdom has formally0:01nationalized British Steel's Skunthorp0:03plant, the country's last remaining0:05Virgin Steel Furnace. The move effective0:08July 16th under the Steel Industry0:09Nationalization Act, takes the facility0:12from Chinese own Jing Group into public0:14hands, and Beijing is pushing back0:16already.0:17Skunthorp in northern England is home to0:19the UK's only remaining blast furnace,0:22the last source of virgin steel made0:24from iron ore. London is where0:26Parliament passed the emergency0:27legislation and Beijing, China's0:29Ministry of Commerce, fired back less0:31than 24 hours after nationalization,0:33accusing the UK of violating investor0:35rights. Jingy Group, a Chinese steel0:38maker, bought British steel in 2020. But0:41by last year, the company was losing0:43roughly 700,000 a day and sought to shut0:46the plant down. In April 2025,0:49Parliament passed emergency legislation0:50and the UK took operational control. Now0:53formal nationalization is law.1:04The numbers tell a stark story. Jingier1:07was losing £700,000 every single day1:09running the Skunthorp plant. Under UK1:11control, that cost has almost doubled.1:14Taxpayers are now covering 1.3 million1:16daily to keep the blast furnaces1:18burning.1:19China's Ministry of Commerce issued what1:21it called firm opposition and strong1:24dissatisfaction on July 17th, the day1:26after nationalization. The statement1:28accused the UK of undermining Jing's1:30legitimate rights and damaging investor1:32confidence. An independent valuer will1:34now determine whether Jing receives any1:36compensation.1:38At stake are thousands of jobs. The1:40Skunthorp plant employs thousands1:42directly and officials say around 4,0001:44total positions including the supply1:46chain hang in the balance. Prime1:47Minister Kier Starmer said the decision1:49secures the future of steel making in1:50the UK, but the financial burden on1:52taxpayers remains steep.1:55This nationalization is the latest flash1:57point in a rapidly deteriorating UK1:59China relationship. Following the Huawei2:01telecom ban and disputes over nuclear2:03energy projects, with British steel now2:06under state control and Beijing2:07demanding answers, this industrial2:09standoff shows no signs of cooling2:11found.Lire l’articleChronologie de l’histoireHeyDexLe format court ↗
