7-eleven Photo:VCG

Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at Friday's press conference after convenience chain store 7-Eleven was fined for displaying an incorrect and incomplete Chinese map that labeled the island of Taiwan as "an independent country."

"I would like to reiterate that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory and the one-China principle is a universally recognized norm in international relations and the consensus of the international community," Wang said.

Seven-Eleven Beijing Co was fined 150,000 yuan ($23,505) by Beijing planning and natural resources market regulators for displaying an incomplete Chinese map on its website and for mistakes including labeling the island of Taiwan as "an independent country."

Incomplete Chinese maps used by foreign brands have stirred anger in Chinese society in recent years.

In 2018, US apparel company Gap apologized and vowed to take more "rigorous reviews in the future" after one of its T-shirts was found to have an incomplete map of China, which sparked outrage among Chinese netizens. In 2019, MAC Cosmetics, a US cosmetics retailer, apologized for posting a map of China that omitted the island of Taiwan.