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The government is excluding another Chinese partner for British Steel, the Minister of Industry said, and contrary to Jonathan Reynolds, operating secretary.
Sarah Jones has Sky News breakfast with Anna Jones that there are ‘strict tests for any investment to be complied with’ and they will apply ‘to a Chinese company like any other business’.
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It comes to ministers rushed through an emergency bill on Saturday To take over British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant After discussions with the Chinese owners, Jingye broke and a Race against time to keep the ovens going.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Sky News’ Sunday morning with Trevor Phillips He would not bring a Chinese company to our steel sector again, and he describes steel as a ‘sensitive area’ in the UK.
But asked if the government excluded the possibility of another Chinese partner, Ms. Jones Tuesday said: ‘We are not at the moment.
‘I’m not going to say yes or no to something that is not on the table or being looked at.
“Whatever the future for Scunthorpe, we want to make sure that we can keep steel manufacturing in our country and that we can grow the industry, and not see the constant decline we have had over the past year.”
In 2020, when Boris Johnson was prime minister, Jingye started buying in 2020, when Boris Johnson was prime minister, with an agreement to buy British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant from insolvency.
But the company has recently canceled orders for the stock of raw materials needed to run ovens on site – the last in the UK to produce Virgin Steel.
After taking over the Scunthorpe plant on Saturday, ministers struggled to secure the Coking coal and iron ore needed to keep it in operation.
If the ovens cool too much, solidify and block the melted iron the ovens, making it extremely difficult and expensive to restart it.
‘China on a mission for dominance’
Former Conservative Defense Minister Tobias Ellwood said the row shows that China should be removed “from any intercourse with the UK’s national infrastructure”.
“We are dealing with a superpower on a mission, a country that does not play according to the rules that have long been dominant in the critical supply chain,” he told Sky News.
However, the Chinese embassy urged the British government not to “politicize” the situation by “linking it to safety issues”, saying it is “an objective fact that British steel companies have experienced problems over the past few years”.
Ms Jones later told LBC that China was the UK’s fourth largest trading partner, creating thousands of posts that people rely on, such a “pragmatic relationship is needed”.
Mr. Reynolds had previously said that there should be a ‘high trust bar’ for companies involving the UK economy, rather than avoiding future transactions with China.
Raw materials to arrive today
The Business Secretary will visit the port near the Scunthorpe plant today, as supplies of two ships are dropped off and then transported.
Read more:
Explainer: Why did the government rescue British Steel?
However, while the material is provided, the government must still determine the following steps to ensure British Steel’s long-term future, whether it is full nationalization or investment in the private sector.
Ms Jones said the government offered Jingeye money in exchange for investment and “we think there is a model that can repeat us with another private sector”.
But she said there was “not another private sector that is currently waiting in the wings, and that it could be a ‘national solution’.
She said that “all the options were” expensive, but that it would cost more for the taxpayer to close the site.
A Yougov poll shows that the majority of the public (61%) supports the government’s decision to nationalize British steel.
The conservatives accused the government of acting “too late” and implementing a “bottled nationalization” after ignoring warnings about the risk of the steel works.
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