Zambia, which chairs the Southern African Development Community grouping, had urged regional states to bar the An Yue Jiang from entering their waters, saying the weapons could deepen Zimbabwe's election crisis.

"To my knowledge, the Chinese company has decided to recall the ship and the relevant goods bound for Zimbabwe," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a news conference.

She said the reason was the same she gave on Tuesday -- that the ship had been unable to unload its goods, but she defended the shipment.

"In the field of conventional weapons, we have trade relations with some countries. These are consistent with our laws and with Security Council resolutions and China's international obligations.

"We have been very responsible and cautious with regards to weapons exports."

No results have been announced from the March 29 presidential vote, while the outcome of a parliamentary poll is also in doubt because of partial recounts.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says it won the elections and the delay in releasing the results extends a deadlock in which the MDC says 10 members have been killed.