The Chinese embassy in Britain on Wednesday urged the British government to follow the principles of fairness, impartiality and non-discrimination in dealing with the issue of British Steel to make sure that the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies in Britain are protected.

The anti-China rhetoric of some individual British politicians regarding the issue of British Steel is "extremely absurd," a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Britain said in a statement.

The spokesperson made the remarks as several politicians attacked Chinese companies and the Chinese government following the British government's recent takeover of British Steel from private Chinese enterprise Jingye Group, which has owned the company since 2020.

The attacks by some individual British politicians reflected "their arrogance, ignorance and twisted mindset," said the spokesperson.

The spokesperson stressed that the Jingye Group is a private Chinese enterprise that makes business investments in Britain on the basis of market principles and conducts operation on its own.

British Steel had been losing money for many years before its acquisition by Jingye and actually went into compulsory liquidation in 2019, noted the spokesperson.

"After taking over, Jingye put in substantial funding to keep the company afloat to this day. Had it not been for the involvement of this Chinese company, British Steel workers might have already faced the risk of unemployment," said the spokesperson.

It is understood that, under the British government's net-zero strategy, steel companies that use iron ore to produce steel must achieve net-zero emissions by 2035. To that end, British steel companies including British Steel have all negotiated with the government to find a path to decarbonization transition. Among them, the Port Talbot Steelworks in Wales closed its blast furnace in July 2024.

"British Steel's plan to close its blast furnaces and build electric arc furnaces is a normal decision, and it is understandable that the company conducted negotiations with the government on investment for the transition," said the spokesperson.

Generally speaking, Chinese companies in Britain have operated in compliance with the law and achieved steady progress, and have made positive contributions to the local economy, the spokesperson said. According to statistics available, Chinese companies in Britain have contributed over 115 billion pounds (152.6 billion U.S. dollars) to the British economy and created nearly 60,000 jobs.

Any words or deeds that politicize or maliciously hype up business issues will undermine the confidence of Chinese business investors in Britain and damage China-Britain economic and trade cooperation, said the spokesperson.

"It is hoped that the British government will continue to engage in consultations and negotiations with Jingye to actively seek a solution acceptable to all parties," said the spokesperson.

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