The Chinese consulate in New York said the display “hurt the dignity and emotions of the Chinese people”, in a post on its official Weibo social media platform today.

Comcast-owned NBC, which holds US broadcasting rights to the Olympic Games, did not immediately reply to a request for comment sent through its official contacts page.

The Chinese consulate did not specify why it objected to the map but said: “We urge NBC to recognise the serious nature of this problem and take measures to correct the error.”

China’s state-controlled Global Times newspaper also criticised the Olympics broadcast and the display of the map.

Maps’ references to self-ruled Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea have stirred controversy in recent years, with Johns Hopkins University last year reversing a decision to show Taiwan as part of China on a map indicating the spread of the coronavirus.

Two years ago, US retailer Gap Inc apologised for selling a T-shirt that it said had an incorrect map of China.

A picture posted to social media showed that the T-shirt did not include the island of Taiwan or the South China Sea.