TRADE unions cautiously welcomed news announced today that a Chinese firm will invest billions in a bid to rescue British Steel.

Unite said that they are seeking urgent meetings with the Chinese steel company Jingye after it was announced that it intends to invest £1.2 billion into British Steel, which employs about 4,000 people in Scunthorpe and Teesside.

The company’s chairman Li Ganpo said that the money would go towards upgrading machinery and infrastructure at the steelworks, as well as raising the company’s environmental performance and boosting energy efficiency.