A Chinese businessman wants to claim back the US$2,000 deposit he put down for a MiG-21 fighter jet he purchased on the Chinese version of Internet auction site eBay as he cannot find a way to ship it to China.

Zhang Cheng, a Beijing businessman, won the auction with a bid of US$24,730 and has already paid US$2,000.

The plane, retired from the Czech airforce, is now in Lewiston, Idaho, in the United States. Last flown in 1995, the jet has been inspected by a museum and found to be in good shape, according to the eBay advert.

But Zhang has consulted with legal experts and has found "it is almost impossible to ship it back," reports the Beijing Times.

Zhang has attributed criticism for the purchase with some netizens accusing him of using the purchase to gain fame. Others, however, have said it merely shows the improved living standards of the Chinese.

"I like to collect valuable items. I have the buying power and my company has an empty space where I can display the plane," Zhang told the Beijing Times.

The purchase was purely for collection purposes, he added.

A member of eBay's public relations staff said the seller had clearly confined the destination of the plane to the United States and Canada. But Zhang clinched the deal under the user name "20020504maryville", which is registered in the US.

Chinese-based eBay's website said that the number of its registered users has reached 6.9 million and its commodity list has hit more than 10 million items.

eBay in China is a joint venture between EachNet and eBay, which began in March 2002.

(Xinhua News Agency May 10, 2006)