China admits Gaddafi arms link

China confirmed today that it met Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s aides in July on a visit to buy arms.

A government spokeswoman said Gaddafi’s officials met Chinese companies but insisted that no contracts were signed and no weapons were shipped. She said China follows a United Nations ban on supplying arms to the toppled regime and backed the role of the UN in a post-conflict Libya.