Report: China tried to arm Qaddafi near end

Libyan rebels run for cover during fighting against regime forces near the Gadayem forest, west of Tripoli, on August 21, 2011. A new report indicates they may have been running from Chinese-made weapons.

/ Getty Images

Even while expressing "regret" over NATO intervention in Libya, China did not block authorization of their airstrikes when the issue came before the U.N. earlier this year. The growing superpower has for a long time tried to carefully inhabit a role in major world conflicts that does not play favorites to any one side.

A new finding from the Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail, indicates, however, that China may have taken that role a step too far.

An official Qaddafi regime document the newspaper found in the trash of a Tripoli neighborhood once packed with government officials indicates "that state-controlled Chinese arms manufacturers were prepared to sell weapons and ammunition worth at least $200 million to the embattled Col. Gadhafi in late July, a violation of United Nations sanctions."

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The Globe and Mail shared the documents with Libyan rebel leaders, and although they do not prove whether China actually sold Qaddafi weapons near the dictator's end, "the documents reinforce (the rebels') suspicions about the recent actions of China, Algeria and South Africa."

China has long since reached out diplomatically to the rebels' Transitional National Council in Libya, but these documents indicate they may have been playing a double game, attempting to back both sides at once.

Omar Hariri, chief of the TNC military committee, told the Globe and Mail that the documents help explain the presence of brand-new weapons his men encountered on the battlefield.

The items detailed for sale in the memo include: "Truck-mounted rocket launchers; fuel-air explosive missiles; and anti-tank missiles, among others. Perhaps most controversially, the Chinese apparently offered Col. Gadhafi's men the QW-18, a surface-to-air missile small enough for a soldier to carry on his shoulder - roughly similar to a U.S. Stinger, capable of bringing down some military aircraft."

The document reports in detail about a trip by Qaddafi security officials from Tripoli to Beijing in July. Three state-controlled weapons manufacturers offered Qaddafi's men their entire stock for sale, and later "thanked the Libyans for their discretion, emphasized the need for confidentiality, and recommended delivery via third parties."

"The companies suggest that they make the contracts with either Algeria or South Africa, because those countries previously worked with China," the memo says.

Members of the United Nations' Libya sanctions committee told The New York Times on Sunday that nothing about arms dealings with China had been brought to their attention.

[USSAmerikan]

The Middle Kingdom is still trying to understand its role in the world. I am sure those responsible for trying to sell weapons to a rogue regime will be brought to what is generally swift and harsh justice (nobody gets away with hurting China's commercial future). As for trade, it seems that there may be a little payback for the barbaric actions by all western nations (UK, France and in a lesser role, the U.S. Take a stroll through the Forbidden City and take a look at the giant cauldrons that had their gold scraped off) that destroyed its ability to function as the trading giant it had once been.

[netjunkie1]

The document reports in detail about a trip by Qaddafi security officials from Tripoli to Beijing in July. Three state-controlled weapons manufacturers offered Qaddafi's men their entire stock for sale, and later "thanked the Libyans for their discretion, emphasized the need for confidentiality, and recommended delivery via third parties."

"The companies suggest that they make the contracts with either Algeria or South Africa, because those countries previously worked with China," the memo says.
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China should be thrown out of the security council since they work to destabilize instead of their mandate in the UN.

Let me go on to say, what good has the UN been?
China or Russia has been a thorn on the side of the UN in the security council, both of which do not deserve to hold such office.
China was given a seat based on the results of WW2...but that Chinese government was chased out by the communists to Taiwan.
Therefore, shouldn't Taiwan be the legitimate seatholder of the security council?
Also, the U.S.S.R. was given a seat also on the same basis, but that government also fell as a result of the cold war. They are not only a thorn on the side of the UN, but have actively disregarded the UN on multiple occassions, yet they keep their seat?
No, as the league of nations went, so will the United Nations, shortly before the next big one.

[DamascusFire]

Experts from across the political spectrum - from USIP to Center for American Progress to Heritage - have weighed in on the China factor in a series of interviews on The Diplomat this past week. It has been clear from their comments that a gulf exists between East and West on Syria and this is complicating U.S. efforts to secure multilateral support for Syrian sanctions. However, Libya went differently - at least in the public sphere. The question therefore arises - if NATO had executed its air campaign with overwhelming force and toppled the Libyan regime months before the alleged meetings between Libya-China (See: Michael Dunn article on Examiner from August 30), then would this story have ever even run? The adage "uncertainty breeds contingency" may be behind Chinese actions.

[nearl451]

There is a lesson that lies therein.

Economically, we seem to be inextricably linked in a supply-demand borrow-spend sense.

On the other hand the US and China are worlds apart on agreeing upon world political structure, in what they would consider and what they would promote. Representative govt frightens China as chaotic instability. (We fear what may happen too, but refrain from saying so because of past....and we would like the formula to work broadly.)

[6591Hou]

And during Desert Storm we recovered French air-launched Exocet and Chinese land launched Silkworm anti-ship missiles sold to Iraq, and pallets and pallets of arsm and ammunition from Jordan with shipping labels extorting 'to our friends in Iraq'.....and the US provided arms and ammunition to the Viet Minh and to the Afghans fighting the Soviets.....there is no sanity in politics.

[Nikos_Retsos]

Of course China would arm Gadhafi and any anti-American leader or regime all the way to the end. That is why China was arming Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe at a time that all other countries had banned weapons sales to him. China is a major U.S. geopolitical antagonistic state -despite the major commercial ties with the U.S.- and it will arm and support any anti-American leader or regime, if it could do that clandestinely without damaging its commercial ties with the U.S.

One striking example of this is the Chinese- Pakistan joint development of aircraft fighter jet, the passing to China information on the fallen secretive design helicopter that crashed during the Bin Laden operation by the U.S. Navy Seals, as well as the joint development of other weapons systems- even though Pakistan is said to be a major U.S. ally. But China knows that the U.S.-Pakistan alliance is semi-hostile at best, and that Pakistan's national interests, both commercial, geographical and strategic are connected like Siamese twins with China. Plus, China is a major foe of India - Pakistan's traditional nemesis and major war antagonist.

China would be careful not to antagonize the U.S. publicly now because it depends on the U.S. trade to keep its economy booming. But it has already started major investments and developments all over Africa to wean off it economy from dependence on the U.S. market. And when that happens, China may start to become more assertive on its foreign policy. Until then, China would court and pamper all antagonistic to the U.S. states to establish a foothold around the globe. That is how the U.S. established its global supremacy after WWII, but the U.S. did it with military invasions and with clandestine operations and bribes that overthrew unfriendly to the U.S. regimes. Now China is on course to win the friendship and alliance of such regimes with free credits, construction, mining, industrial development, and support in banking and international institutions.

Gadhafi, regardless of revelations that he had cooperated with the CIA and the British MI6, was generally hostile to all Western states. And if China could save his regime and keep him depended on China for his survival, it would have done it. Nikos Retsos, retired professor

[sepa2]

Gadhafi, regardless of revelations that he had cooperated with the CIA and the British MI6 - classic western betrayal which has been repeated in many countries. President Bush should be ashamed that all his diplomatic agreements hve been dishonored

[tvwatcher5345]

and they also get upset in this country when we walk on the right side of the sidewalk, and they are walking toward you, and they want to walk on the left side of the sidewalk, everyone remember do not yield, walk on the right, don't give up the fight, don't get me wrong i do love chinese food though

[tvwatcher5345]

actually i never knew what their issue was with walking on the left, (i was going to ask this chick i work with) and i think they have every right to walk on the left in their country, but here in the states we walk on the right just like we drive, is that why they can't drive in this country? because they want to drive to the left of everyone on the road? also i still love chinese food

[tvwatcher5345]

buddy they have every right to try to walk on the left, and i have every right to walk on the right, against asian or biblical superstition, you seem like you are kind of ignorant with your support of superstition, do you ever walk under ladders? i double dog dare you!

[myronfagan]

This report is sensationalism and brainwashing reporting. The news should read.. NATO slaughters Libyans and destroys infrastructure and created civil war when saying they wanted to protect civilians. NOT.
China has more sense than you Joshua.

[sepa2]

This is the new way of creating markets and opportunities Genghis Khan style

[freude1]

Why is this story about China's willingness to sell arms to Libya in July a big deal while France has admitted to sending arms to Libyan rebels? US and NATO didn't even sell their weapons but fight against Qaddafi army using their modern armory for free.

[commenter777]

The Chinese feel the same way toward the US about the US arming Taiwan.

[bajajohn1]

Like the headline reads, it is just a report.