China and Africa are “good brothers” and China respects all people regardless of race, the government said on Monday after a detergent maker apologised for an advert showing a black man bundled into a washing machine that many called racist.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said the ad was an isolated commercial act that had not prompted any diplomatic complaints and hoped people would not hype it up.

“Everyone can see that we are consistent in equality towards, and mutually respect, all countries, no matter their ethnicity or race. In fact, we are good brothers with African countries,” Ms Hua told a daily press briefing.

It is unclear if the black actor in the ad is from Africa.

“Even though the people who shot the ad may not have realised it, it really is racist,” one user on the microblogging platform Weibo wrote. “Those who planned the ad strategy should really have read up first.”

Legal experts in China have called for stricter law enforcement to deal with such racism, while state-run newspapers accused Western media for “magnifying racism” in China over the controversial laundry advertisement. It is not clear whether any action will be taken against the company for the ad.

Liu Junhai, a professor of civil and commercial law at Renmin University of China, said the commercial reflects the lack of public awareness about racial issues in China. “Chinese brands should stay alert because of fast- spreading social media,” Proff. Liu said.