Germany's European commissioner apologised for offending China, gay people and French-speaking Belgians today as the EU executive tried to end days of scandalised commentary that might have jeopardised trade. Guenther Oettinger said in a statement released by the Commission that he now realised his remarks to a German business forum last week had "hurt" people. He had called Chinese people "slit-eyes", joked about "compulsory gay marriage" and railed at a Belgian region's efforts to block an EU-Canada trade deal. A spokesman for the EU executive, which is trying to improve relations with Beijing despite disputes over trade policy and human rights, said Oettinger had released the apology after a call from Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday. His U-turn came a day after the Chinese foreign ministry condemned his remarks and said they reflected a "baffling sense of superiority" among Western politicians. Oettinger, 63, had previously accepted only that his comments on October 25 had been "somewhat sloppy". He retained the confidence of Chancellor Angela Merkel, a fellow conservative though not a close ally, who had nominated the former state premier to Berlin's...
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