China Foreign Ministry defends arms shipment to Zimbabwe, but indicates deal may be scrapped

The weapons were believed to be headed for Angola aboard a Chinese freighter after a judge on Friday barred their transit through South Africa.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu insisted the shipment constituted a "normal military product trade between the two countries," but added, "As far as I know, the carrier is now considering carrying back the cargo."

Although Jiang offered no details, the move appeared to indicate a backdown in the face of refusals by states neighboring Zimbabwe to allow the weapons _ including mortar grenades and bullets _ to be offloaded and shipped through their territories.

The issue risks further harming China's reputation in Africa, where its aggressive business practices and support for authoritarian regimes have drawn increasing scrutiny.

Protesters in South Africa's capital Pretoria on Monday unfurled a banner outside the Chinese embassy reading: "Take your weapons ... and go HOME!"

There is no international arms embargo against Zimbabwe, and China is one of the southern African nation's main trade partners and allies.

However, it was widely feared the arms could be used by President Robert Mugabe's regime to expand a clampdown on political opponents. Zimbabwe's government has refused to publish the results of presidential elections held three weeks ago, and there are reports of increasing violence against the opposition.

Reports out of Washington on Monday said the U.S. administration was intervening with governments in southern Africa to prevent the cargo's unloading. At the same time, the State Department's top Africa hand, Jendayi Frazer, plans to visit the region this week to underscore U.S. concerns about the shipment.

Frazer also will try to persuade Zimbabwe's neighbors to step up pressure on Mugabe's government to publish results from the disputed election that the opposition claims to have won, administration officials said Monday.

Jiang said she had no knowledge of U.S. involvement, adding, "I believe it would be totally groundless because this is purely a military goods transaction. There's no point in politicizing this."

"The relevant contract was signed last year and has nothing to do with the latest situation in Zimbabwe," Jiang said at a regularly scheduled news conference.

She defended China's guidelines on arms sales abroad as "prudent and cautious," saying those were based on a policy of noninterference in other nation's internal affairs.

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 fueling violence in Sudan and other parts of Africa.

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