Gap says sorry for T-shirts with 'incorrect map' of China

US retailer Gap has apologised for selling T-shirts which it said showed an "incorrect map" of China.

The design featured just the mainland and not territories that China also claims, such as Taiwan.

A picture of the T-shirt was posted on Chinese social media network, Weibo, generating hundreds of complaints.

The company said it respected China's "sovereignty" and would implement "rigorous reviews" to prevent a repeat of the incident.

Gap is the latest in a string of foreign firms to face a backlash for not adhering to China's territorial claims.

The post on Weibo said the T-shirt, which was being sold in Canada, did not show Chinese-claimed territories including Taiwan, islands in the South China Sea and south Tibet.

Beijing considers self-ruling Taiwan to be a breakaway province, while Tibet is governed as an autonomous region. China also claims a large part of territory in the South China Sea, which neighbouring Asian countries dispute.

"South Tibet" is how China refers to what it claims is its territory in the Indian-administered region of Arunachal Pradesh.

• Why is the South China Sea contentious?

In a statement Gap said it "sincerely apologised for this unintentional error".

The clothing giant said the product had been pulled from the Chinese market and destroyed. It was not clear what would happen to those being sold outside the mainland.

Several other companies including Marriott and Delta Airlines have issued similar apologies this year after information on their websites appeared to conflict with China's territorial claims.

Last month, Beijing demanded a group of foreign airlines respect China's sovereignty claims and change the way they refer to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

The White House hit back, describing China's claims as "Orwellian nonsense" and sharply criticised Beijing for trying to impose its "political correctness on American companies and their citizens".