SHANGHAI – China said on Thursday it opposes all racial discrimination after state-owned Air China withdrew an in-flight magazine that warned visitors to be careful in parts of London populated by members of ethnic minorities.

China prides itself as a new global superpower but occasional high-profile examples of prejudice towards foreigners, or people from minority groups, illustrate lingering biased attitudes in some quarters.

“Precautions are needed when entering areas mainly populated by Indians, Pakistanis and black people,” the state-owned airline’s Wings of China magazine said in an article offering advice to visitors to London, according to a photo of the text seen by Reuters.

The advice, in its September edition, triggered an online uproar.

Air China responded by saying it had removed all copies of the magazine from its aircraft and it had asked the publisher to”learn the lesson and avoid similar problems” in future.

Publications on its flights did not represent its views, the airline said in a statement.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing she had noted the flag carrier had made an “initial response” to the article. “We hope that through its investigation Air China can appropriately handle the relevant issue,” Hua said. “We consistently advocate for and support the equality of all ethnicities without exception and oppose all forms of racial discrimination.” The publisher apologised for hurting Air China with the”inappropriate wording”, according to a statement emailed to Reuters by Air China.

The article also drew criticism in Britain.

Member of parliament Virendra Sharma called the magazine”offensive” and asked in a post on twitter that the airline to remove the magazine and apologise.

Sharma represents London’s Ealing Southall area, dubbed”Little India”, where more than one-third of residents are of Asian origin.

The magazine’s advice is the latest example of material published in China deemed insensitive and sparking uproar.

In May, a detergent maker apologised after airing a television advertisement showing a black man being shoved into a washing machine and coming out a fair-skinned Asian.

Public discussion of discrimination is unusual in China, which is dominated by the ethnic Han majority but is home to numerous minority groups as well as a growing influx of foreigners.

Nearly 270,000 people from China visited Britain last year and Air China did get some sympathy. “Air China is not wrong. You really should take the company’s advice for safety concerns. No need to care if it’s politically correct,” one netizen wrote on the Weibo social media site.

US President Barack Obama urged Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday to conduct his crime war “the right way”, after 3,000 people were killed in the crackdown in just over two months.

“As despicable as these (crime) networks may be and as much damage as they do, it is important from our perspective to make sure that we do it the right way,” Obama told reporters when asked about his conversation with Duterte on the sidelines of a regional summit in Laos.

“Because the consequences of when you do it the wrong way are innocent people get hurt and you have a bunch of unintended consequences that don’t solve the problem.”

Relations between long time allies the US and the Philippines saw a spectacular setback this week after firebrand politician Duterte branded Obama a “son of a whore”.

The outburst on Monday was in response to being told Obama planned to raise concerns about his war of drugs.

“You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum,” Duterte told reporters shortly before flying to Laos.

“We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me.” At the press conference marking the end of his trip to Laos Obama said he was unfazed by Duterte’s jibe.

“I don’t take these comments personally because it seems as if this is a phrase he’s used repeatedly including directed at the pope and others,” adding that such choice words were “a habit, a way of speaking for him”.

Duterte has branded Pope Francis, the US ambassador to Manila and the United Nations as “sons of whores”.

However Obama cancelled a meeting with Duterte scheduled for Tuesday because of the outburst.

They met briefly on Wednesday night before a leaders’ dinner, but only exchanged “pleasantries”, according to the White House.

ASEAN Summit 2016

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AFP, Reuters, Lianhe Zaobao

Read also: Sorry again: Duterte says he didn’t mean to offend Obama

Duterte was elected to office in a landslide this year after pledging to kill 100,000 people in an unprecedented war on crime.

He vowed in the campaign that so many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish there would grow fat from feeding on them.

Duterte has also repeatedly promised to protect police from prosecution if they are charged over the deaths and insisted human rights cannot get in the way of his war.

Anti-crime blitz sweeps Philippines as Duterte comes into power

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AFP, Reuters

Duterte has said the Philippines is in danger of becoming a “narco state”, and eliminating drugs in society is the top priority of his administrations.

On the day he was sworn into office, June 30, Duterte urged people living in a Manila slum to kill drug addicts in their community.

His handpicked police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, last month called for drug addicts to kill traffickers and burn down their homes.

The United Nations special rapporteur on summary executions has warned incitement to kill is a crime under international law.

Despite growing condemnation of the comments and what rights groups say are rampant extrajudicial killings, Duterte has vowed to continue.

“More people will be killed, plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets,” Duterte said on Monday.