Jingye Group

Jingye Group (Chinese:敬业集团) is a Chinese private steelmaker and long steel products company headquartered in Beijing. The group was also active in Europe from 2020 to 2026 through the acquisition of British Steel Limited.

Jingye is a major producer of concrete reinforcement, round bars, medium steel plates and galvanized and painted sheet steel. The Chinese construction sector is a major customer but the group also exports globally.

In addition to steel production, the group is also active in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, international trade, finance, logistics, tourism, holiday resorts and hotels, real estate and 3D printing with metal powder.

In 1985, former teacher Li Ganpo founded a privately owned canning factory and a brewery in Pingshan, not far from Beijing. Three years later, he founded the Jingye chemical factory. The word "jingye" means "dedication".^[1]

In 2002, the group also entered steel production and developed activities in other sectors such as transport and tourism. The production of steel and processed steel products grew to become the group's core business. The company also built roads, houses and schools, and provided health care and higher education for its employees and the community. From 2008, Li also served on the 11th National People's Congress.^[1]

In 2020, Jingye acquired British Steel out of insolvency, preserving around 3,200 jobs at the Scunthorpe steelworks and other UK operations. Following the takeover, Jingye said it invested more than £1.2 billion to maintain British Steel's operations amid difficult market conditions, tariffs, and rising environmental costs. By 2025, the company stated that British Steel was losing around £700,000 per day as negotiations with the UK government over support for new electric arc furnaces failed.^[2]

En 2025, el gobierno británico tomó el control de una acería propiedad de Jingye alegando razones de seguridad nacional. ^{[ 3 ] [ 4 ]} The Economist cuestionó la solidez de la justificación de seguridad nacional, señalando que gran parte del acero utilizado por la industria de defensa británica ya era importado, incluyendo «acero para cascos de submarinos y construcción naval de chapa delgada», y que las propias acerías británicas dependían en gran medida de materias primas importadas. ^{[ 5 ]}

El 16 de julio de 2026, el gobierno del Reino Unido nacionalizó British Steel en virtud de la Ley de Nacionalización de la Industria Siderúrgica de 2026 para evitar el cierre de la acería de Scunthorpe . ^{[ 6 ] [ 7 ]} En respuesta, el Ministerio de Comercio de China expresó su profunda insatisfacción con la nacionalización, calificando la adquisición como un «duro golpe» a la confianza de las empresas chinas que invierten en el Reino Unido. ^{[ 8 ]} Un evaluador independiente decidirá si Jingye debe ser indemnizada. ^{[ 9 ]}

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