Britain's diplomatic efforts towards China this year were significantly challenged by Parliament's emergency move to take control of a Chinese-owned steel mill, highlighting tensions in an otherwise warming relationship. The government intervened to prevent the closure of the Scunthorpe plant, critical for retaining jobs and ensuring a supply of crude steel. Repeated refusals from the Chinese owner Jingye to order necessary materials and accusations of bad faith have fueled concerns about future Chinese investments in sensitive sectors, with officials urging a clearer stance on industry collaborations.
We have got to be clear about what is the sort of sector where actually we can promote and cooperate and ones, frankly, where we can't, Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, told Sky News on Sunday.
Mr. Reynolds said the Chinese company, Jingye, had refused to order vital raw materials, knowing that this would lead to the closure of the mill, Britain's last big producer of crude steel.
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