Chinese firms tried to sell arms to Gaddafi

CHINESE arms firms held talks with representatives of Muammar Gaddafi’s beleaguered forces in July over weapons sales, but behind Beijing’s back, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

The revelation is nonetheless likely to deal a fresh blow to China’s already delicate relations with the rebel forces that have ousted Gaddafi.

The ministry refuted reports in Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail and the New York Times, that documents found in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, indicated that Chinese companies offered to sell rocket launchers, anti-tank missiles and other arms worth some $200 million (€141.7m) to Gaddafi’s forces, despite a UN ban on such sales.