The proposed acquisition of British Steel by China's Jingye Group creates the possibility of a sustainable future for the business, according to Jonathan Deacon a business professor at the University of South Wales.

British Steel has been merged or taken over three times and Deacon says some previous buyers looked at the company as "an asset-stripping exercise."

"It's been played around in the past by people who didn't quite know or understand the steel industry. I think this is a different kettle of fish," Deacon told CGTN's Global Business show.

Jingye says it will invest at least $1.3 billion over the next 10 years and aims to boost output in the UK from 2.5 million to 3 million tons per year. The investment provides British Steel the opportunity to move into new products – particularly tram and train rails and girders for construction – and find new markets, Deacon said.

Read more: Jingye Group buys British Steel saving 'thousands of jobs'