A consumer buys wine imported from Italy in a supermarket in Shanghai in June 2018. (Photo: VCG)

After Chinese distributors suspended cooperation with Italian wine producer Bottega and removed its products from online shops, the founder of Bottega apologized for scapegoating China for the COVID-19 pandemic and asking China to compensate Italy and other countries, saying that his previous remarks did not reflect his beliefs and were misinterpreted by Italian media.

However, his apology on Tuesday failed to quench Chinese distributors' anger, and one of the company's biggest distributors told the Global Times it won't resume cooperation with Bottega, despite the apology. 

Sandro Bottega, founder of Prosecco producer Bottega, fueled anger in China after his interview with Italian media outlet La Stampa. 

The man told the organization that the Chinese government should be held accountable for the pandemic, and it should pay for the damage caused to Italy and the rest of the world. 

He also urged Italian companies to avoid using anything produced in China, and suggested negotiating with the Chinese government to waive tariffs on Italian products. 

After his remarks were published, Shenzhen-based UITA and Telford Wine & Spirits (Shanghai) Ltd, two of Bottega's biggest Chinese distributors, separately issued statements saying that they would suspend cooperation with Bottega. 

"We will immediately stop our cooperation with Bottega. At the same time, we will cancel all orders currently in production or transportation, and remove the Bottega products nationwide," said UITA in a statement issued on Monday.

JD.com, one of China's largest global online shopping sites, removed Bottega's products. 

In a video sent to UITA on Tuesday, Bottega said that his previous words "were not what I think, but just reflected a moment of nervousness." He also said the Italian media outlet had twisted his words, so he sent a rectification letter to La Stampa. The letter was published on Monday. 

Bottega said that asking the Italian government to negotiate tariffs is just a request by a businessperson, and it means nothing else. 

"The virus has no borders, can come in any place any country... We never blamed the Americans for H1N1, never blamed the Spanish for the same reason [Spanish flu]; we never blamed the Chinese for what happened in Wuhan," said Bottega.

But his effort to apologize may be in vain, as UITA told the Global Times that it won't cooperate with Bottega any longer. 

It is deeply rooted and longstanding discrimination, ignited at a special time. This also signals to all importers and distributors that the basis for cooperation, aside from wine itself, should be mutual respect, said Ma Bijie, an industry insider from Wajiu.com, a platform focused on imported wine and beverages.

Ma said that only if the Chinese partners join to refuse cooperation, will bigots who practice such discrimination learn their lessons. 

Italy ranks fourth among China's source of wine import with 6.4 percent of market share, after Australia's 35.5 percent, France's 28.5 percent and Chile's 14.2 percent.