From Shanghai to Scunthorpe - what's China's influence on UK industry?

Sky News Daily

Monday, 14 April 2025 - 15 minutes

British Steel's Scunthorpe steelworks are now effectively under government control after the business secretary said Chinese owner Jingye had decided to stop buying enough raw materials to keep the blast furnaces going. Jonathan Reynolds said the government took the action as steel "is vital for our national security". But with Chinese companies owning hundreds of billions of pounds worth of infrastructure assets throughout the UK, do they have too much influence on the UK's critical industries? On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson speaks to business correspondent Paul Kelso about nationalising British Steel, Chinese investment in the UK economy and whether the government can ultimately keep the lights in the furnaces on. The Sky News Daily has approached Jingye for comment.