Christian Dior criticized China map, apologizes, maintains & # 39; one China & # 39;

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – French luxury brand Christian Dior apologized Thursday saying it supported China's territorial sovereignty after it was criticized for using a map of China that excluded Taiwan in a presentation.

Taiwan is China's most sensitive territorial problem. Beijing considers the autonomous island a difficult province and part of "the one China".

The incident involving the map occurred during a presentation Dior held about his boutique network at Zhejiang Gongshang University in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, posted on China's Weibo social media platform.

An employee of the university's career office told Reuters that Dior had held a recruitment event Wednesday and that there had been a problem with the maps it had shown.

Dior, who is part of the luxury group LVMH ( LVMH.PA ), said in a post on the Weibo account that it had begun to "seriously investigate" the incident.

"Dior first extends our deep apologies for the inaccurate statement and misrepresentation of a Dior employee on a campus presentation," the company said without providing further details about the incident.

"Dior always respects and upholds the one China principle, strictly safeguards China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and appreciates the feelings of the Chinese people," it said, adding that measures would be taken to prevent similar events from happening.

Dior is the last company involved in political issues involving China, which has been more confident in its territorial claims and how it expects foreign companies operating in China to describe them.

Fashion brands like Givenchy, Coach and Versace are among companies that have made similar excuses in recent months.

The "Dior statement" theme was among the most viewed on Weibo on Thursday with around 100 million views.