BEIJING: China on Wednesday (Apr 22) denied again that a ship intercepted by the United States contained a “gift” from Beijing for Iran, a day after US President Donald Trump made the accusation.
Trump had said that an Iranian-flagged ship seized by US forces in the Gulf of Oman on Sunday contained “a gift from China”, which “wasn’t very nice”.
His comments came after former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley wrote on X that the ship was travelling from China to Iran and was linked to chemical shipments for missiles.
Responding to Haley’s accusations at a regular news briefing on Tuesday, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the ship was “a foreign container ship”, and that China opposed “any malicious association and speculation”.
Asked about Trump’s comments on Wednesday, Guo said China had already stated its position.
“As a responsible major country, China has always set a good example in fulfilling its due international obligation,” he added.
Trump had said on Tuesday that he was “a little surprised”, given he thought he had an “understanding” with China’s President Xi Jinping.
A week ago, Trump announced that Xi had assured him there would be no Chinese weapons deliveries to Iran.
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