John Cena has apologized to China for calling Taiwan a country during a recent media interview to promote Fast and the Furious 9. The island is self-governed but China has claimed the territory despite this for over 70 years.

China pushes back on international messaging that involves Taiwan being referred to as an independent country and John Cena is the latest to experience this. Cena did an interview with local media in Taiwan and mentioned that it will be the first country to see the film.

“Taiwan is the first country that can watch F9,” Cena told the broadcaster in Mandarin.

Today, Cena took to China’s Weibo social media platform and delivered a message in Mandarin. He did not refer to Taiwan by name but spoke about having done a lot of interviews and having “made a mistake.”

“I’m sorry for my mistake,” Cena said. “I must say now, [it’s] very, very, very, very important [that] I love, and respect even more, China and the Chinese people.”