BEIJING - China hopes that foreign enterprises in the country will uphold basic principles while sharing the opportunities of China's development, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Wednesday (Feb 7).
Mr Geng made the remark at a daily news briefing after German luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz posted an Instagram advertisement quoting the Dalai Lama on Monday and then apologised on Tuesday, according to China Daily.
It is a basic principle to correct mistakes as soon as you know it, whether it is in China or other countries, Mr Geng said.
"We will continue to cooperate with foreign enterprises and welcome them to share China's development opportunities, and we also hope foreign enterprises follow basic principles," he added.
Mercedes-Benz has apologised to Chinese consumers on China's Twitter-like platform Sina Weibo for "hurting Chinese people's feelings", right after Mercedes and its parent company Daimler on Monday posted a picture of a white Benz on their Instagram accounts and cited the Dalai Lama in the ad, China Daily reported.
Global Times reported that the ad had quoted one of the Dalai Lama's sayings: "Look at the situations from all angles, and you will become more open."
Below the picture of the white Benz was the line: "Start your week with a fresh perspective on life from the Dalai Lama."
The post quickly led to online uproar in China, as the Dalai Lama is a political exile who has, for a long time, "used the cloak of religion to engage in separatist activities against China", according to China Daily.
Responding to outraged Chinese netizens, Mercedes deleted the photo on Instagram and Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service issued an apology on Tuesday on Sina Weibo, saying the post "contains an extremely wrong message and we apologise for this sincerely".
"Although we deleted the related information as quickly as possible, we know well that we've hurt the feelings of people in China," it said via its official account, according to China Daily.
"We will immediately take practical actions to deepen our understanding of Chinese culture and values, and in this way regulate our behaviour," the statement said.
Daimler has yet to make a public apology, said China Daily.
Daimler has been increasingly expanding in China in recent years. For the first time in 2017, Daimler overtook its arch rival Audi as the largest premium carmaker by sales in China.
It sold 610,965 Mercedes-Benz and smart-branded cars in China in 2017, accounting for a quarter of its global sales in the year. It marks a new sales record in a single market for the company worldwide.
China has cooperated fully with foreign enterprises during the decades of reform and opening-up, Mr Geng said on Wednesday, adding that the cooperation not only promoted the development of China but also benefited foreign enterprises, China Daily reported.
China will be more confident and open since the country entered a new era after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Mr Geng added.
