“Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments,” Dongpeng said in its statement.

“With immediate effect our company is terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappé,” Mengniu said in a statement.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV is suspending showing matches from Spanish top division La Liga, Chinese media outlet The Paper reported. Mbappé plays club football for Real Madrid.

As the backlash grew, Mbappé responded: “My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world. I apologise to everyone my words have upset. This was absolutely not my intention. I have deep respect for the Chinese people and their history, and I am sincerely sorry.”

The controversy in China flared up a day after England’s Harry Kane beat Mbappé for the Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious individual award in football.

This report has been updated with Kylian Mbappé’s response.