Crossword Genius

China importing revolutionary weapon (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

machete

'weapon' is the definition.
(machete is a kind of weapon)

'china importing revolutionary' is the wordplay.
'china' becomes 'mate' ('China plate' is rhyming slang for 'mate').
'importing' is an insertion indicator.
'revolutionary' becomes 'che' (Che Guevara the Marxist revolutionary).
'mate' enclosing 'che' is 'MACHETE'.

(Other definitions for machete that I've seen before include "Knife for hacking" , "Heavy South American knife" , "Broad heavy knife common in Central America" , "Jungle blade" , "Jungle chopper" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times, The Telegraph and The Sun.
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