NAIROBI (Reuters) - Office equipment for Kenya’s parliament donated by China has gone missing after being loaded onto a shipping container, authorities from both nations said on Thursday.

Like other African nations, Kenya has deepened ties with Beijing, receiving loans, investments and scholarships. But the container of equipment arrived empty this week at its National Assembly, China’s “shocked” embassy said in a statement.

Kenyan police have begun an investigation into the disappearance of the electronic equipment, whose value has not been given, and parliament officials declined to comment.

Kenya has been beset by widespread cases of corruption and theft over the years and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government had been trying to crack down on the problem.

Reporting by John Ndiso and Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne