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Arms ship to return to China
24/04/2008 11:38 - (SA)
Beijing - A shipment of weapons to Zimbabwe that raised widespread criticism will return to China because there was no way to deliver it, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
Countries neighbouring Zimbabwe refused to allow the weapons, including mortar grenades and bullets, to be shipped through their territories.
The planned arrival of the arms comes amid a political standoff in Zimbabwe over an election more than three weeks ago, with the government refusing to concede that it lost as the opposition claims.
"The (shipping) company took this decision," ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said. "The shipment will be returning."
Jiang defended the shipment as a normal arms transaction and said the contract had been signed last year.
The timing of the arms shipment had further cast a spotlight on China's ties with Africa, where its aggressive business practices and support for authoritarian regimes have drawn increasing scrutiny.
There is no international arms embargo against Zimbabwe, and China is one of the southern African nation's main trade partners and allies.
It was widely feared the arms could be used by President Robert Mugabe's regime to expand a clampdown on political opponents.
Reports out of Washington earlier this week said the US administration was intervening with governments in southern Africa to prevent the cargo's delivery.
Although China's global weapons exports are considered tiny in dollar terms, especially compared to the United States, Beijing is a principal exporter of cheap, simple small arms that are blamed for fuelling violence in Sudan and other parts of Africa.
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