It's a diplomatic spat no one saw coming, but tensions have over the past few weeks been escalating between China and Sweden. It all started earlier in September when Chinese tourists were removed from a hotel by Swedish police, a move which was heavily condemned by the Chinese government.
But matters were made worse when a satirical Swedish television show joked about Chinese people eating dogs and defecating in public. Beijing accused the show of using "vulgar language", adding that it was "full of discrimination, prejudice and provocation" against China. The Swedish broadcaster, on the other hand, said it would be "apparent" to a Swedish speaker that the show was "comedy". But how did both countries get here and could there be more to the feud than it seems?
But matters were made worse when a satirical Swedish television show joked about Chinese people eating dogs and defecating in public. Beijing accused the show of using "vulgar language", adding that it was "full of discrimination, prejudice and provocation" against China. The Swedish broadcaster, on the other hand, said it would be "apparent" to a Swedish speaker that the show was "comedy". But how did both countries get here and could there be more to the feud than it seems?