China acknowledges Mbappe apology but gives no sign of ending La Liga boycott

China’s Foreign Ministry has recognised Kylian Mbappe’s apology over comments about the country, but has offered no indication that its boycott of the France forward, La Liga and Real Madrid will be lifted.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun was asked about Mbappe’s statement on Wednesday, in comments reported by the Spanish news agency EFE.

“We attach importance to the apology offered by the person concerned,” Guo said.

When pressed on whether the apology could lead to an end to the boycott, the spokesman repeated the same response without providing any further clarification.

Mbappe issued a formal apology on Tuesday in French, Chinese and English, describing his original comment as a “slip of the tongue”. He acknowledged that his words had caused offence to many people in China and among Chinese communities overseas, and expressed his “deep respect” for the Chinese people and their history.

The dispute began after Mbappe said one of his favourite satirical images was a manipulated picture showing his face on that of a “Chinese dictator”. Although he did not name the figure, the reference was understood to be to Mao Zedong.

Mao, who founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949, holds a central and revered position in the Chinese Communist Party’s national narrative. He is regarded as a symbol of the country’s recovery of sovereignty following what is known as the “century of humiliation”, despite the party’s acknowledgement of disasters associated with policies including the “Great Leap Forward” and the “Cultural Revolution”.

Commercial fallout

The comments were followed by the immediate collapse of major commercial agreements involving the Chinese companies Dongfeng, Mengniu and Milk Ground.

Restrictions were also placed on content featuring Mbappe on digital platforms. In addition, broadcasts of La Liga matches on Chinese state television were suspended from Monday, 26 October.

La Liga moved quickly to try to contain the commercial and diplomatic damage. The league apologised for the offence caused, while its president Javier Tebas met China’s ambassador to Spain, Yao Jing, on Tuesday to discuss resolving the dispute and protecting existing co-operation agreements. Tebas described China as a “strategic partner”.

On Wednesday, China Media Group (CMG), which owns the official CCTV channel, said it had received a formal letter of apology from Real Madrid to the Chinese people through La Liga. The statement was issued at 18:00 local time.

Extracts from the letter published by CMG said: “Our club has deep respect for China, its history, culture and people.” Real Madrid also stressed its wish to continue strengthening its relationship with the Asian country. Mbappe’s public apology was included alongside the club’s message.

CMG confirmed receipt of both apologies but did not say whether it considered them sufficient. It also announced no change to its decision to suspend broadcasts of La Liga matches, games involving Mbappe or advertisements featuring him.

Earlier on Wednesday, CMG’s Sports and Youth Centre rejected a Spanish media report that had described Mbappe’s comments as a personal expression without an intention to cause offence.

The organisation said the player’s words had gone beyond the limits of what was acceptable and beyond freedom of expression. It warned Real Madrid that the club could not avoid its responsibility and said: “Without a satisfactory apology, there is no room for discussion.”