China rejects Trump accusation that intercepted Iran ship was ‘gift from China’
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The US President suggested in an interview on CNBC on April 21 that the US caught a boat carrying a “gift” from China.
PHOTO: EPA
BEIJING – China’s Foreign Ministry on April 24 rejected an accusation by US President Donald Trump that an Iranian-flagged cargo ship intercepted by US forces was a “gift from China”.
The US said it fired on and seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to evade its blockade of Iranian ports. Iran’s military said the ship had been travelling from China and vowed retaliation against what it called “armed piracy by the US military”.
Mr Trump on April 21 told CNBC the ship “had some things on it, which wasn’t very nice. A gift from China perhaps, I don’t know”.
China’s Foreign Ministry rejected the comments.
“China opposes any accusations and associations that lack a factual basis,” ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.
“Normal international trade relations between countries should not be subject to interference and disruption,” he added.
The container ship Touska, which was boarded and seized by US forces on April 19, is likely to have what Washington deems dual-use items that could be used by the military on board, maritime security sources said on April 20. REUTERS
