Kylian Mbappé apologised after comments about a meme depicting Chinese leader Mao Zedong triggered backlash in China. Beverage maker Dongpeng, dairy giant Mengniu and cheese producer Milkground ended their partnerships with the French footballer. China's Foreign Ministry criticised the remarks, while social media platform RedNote removed promotional material. Online criticism intensified, with boycott-related hashtags trending on Weibo.