Danish councilor's comments 'won't harm ties'

China has been angered by a local Danish politician's "irresponsible assault" on the Chinese people, but the isolated case will not hinder the development of Sino-Danish ties, the Foreign Ministry told China Daily in a written statement on Tuesday.

"We have noticed that these words have been widely criticized and strictly condemned by people from all circles in Denmark," the ministry said.

"China and Denmark are enjoying a sound relationship at present and cooperation in all fields runs smoothly. The isolated, irresponsible, extremist comments will not prevent the development of China-Denmark ties, nor impact on the friendship between the two peoples," the ministry's statement said.

Fuat Yalan, a councilor from the Danish city of Helsingor, said on his Facebook page earlier he hopes "that the temperature reaches 140 degrees and that all the Chinese will burn, so the world will be free of Chinese filth".

He later said in an interview with a local newspaper that "if there was a Chinese person in front of me right now I would shoot him. I don't care if I'm thrown out of the party, kicked out of Denmark or shot myself. I don't care about politics, and I stand by my words".

Yalan, who is of Turkish ancestry, later said he made the remarks because he had seen a video on YouTube that he said showed Chinese people "abusing" a boy. But the video cannot be found on the website any more.

Yalan's words drew strong criticism from Danish society.

On the website of the Copenhagen Post, a netizen named "Jay Z" said Yalan's words "are sending a dangerous signal".

Yalan's Socialdemokraterne party asked him to resign from Helsingor city council. He apologized for his remarks but refused to resign, the Copenhagen Post reported.