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Updated 11:56 AM ET, Tue April 14, 2020
By Jordan Valinsky, CNN Business
McDonald’s is in damage control mode after a restaurant in China displayed a sign banning black people from the premises.

The sign, which recently circulated on social media, said the McDonald’s location in Guangzhou has “been informed that from now on black people are not allowed to enter the restaurant.”

The sign is “not representative of our inclusive values,” McDonald’s said in a statement. The sign was removed and the location was temporarily closed down. CNN has not yet been able to authenticate the video.

The industrial city has been steeped in racial tensions between Africans and locals. Recent warnings from Chinese officials about the rising number of imported coronavirus cases have stoked anti-foreigner sentiment. Africans in the southern Chinese city have been evicted from their homes by landlords and turned away from hotels, despite many claiming to have no recent travel history or known contact with Covid-19 patients.