A Chinese state broadcaster came under fire on Friday for showing dancers in black makeup during its Lunar New Year entertainment spectacle.

The annual show is one of the world's most-watched television programs, and China Central Television (CCTV) also faced criticism for their depiction of African people in 2018.

How did the controversy arise?

CCTV's "African Song and Dance" performance came at the start of the Spring Festival Gala for the lunar Year of the Ox.

The show included Chinese dancers in African-style costumes and dark makeup who were dancing and beating drums.

The depiction drew allegations of cultural insensitivity and racism, including from Black advocacy groups.

China's foreign ministry has defended the African segment of the show as a sign of respect.

Officials say the hours-long annual spectacle, a television highlight since 1983, is seen by as many as 800 million viewers.

CCTV also faced criticism over its 2018 Spring Festival Gala, featuring performers in dark makeup with a monkey.

What social media users said

Users of Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media platform, voiced their shock and exasperation about the showpiece.

"The New Year Gala director team is just stupid and vicious," one user said.

"Is there any difference between Chinese people doing blackface and white people slanting their eyes to make fun of Asians?" said another.

Black Livity China, a group for people of African descent who work in or have links with China, called the broadcast "extremely disappointing."

"We cannot stress enough the impact scenes such as these have on African and Afro-diasporic communities living in China," the group said.

Activist group Black China Caucus tweeted that it hoped organizers would "end this practice and hire some of the thousands of Black people living in many parts of China."

"While supporters of the practice allege that blackface centers on empathy & realism, it's difficult to disassociate it from a long history of minstrels & fixation on problematic caricatures," the group said.

China dismisses 'ulterior motives'

China's ruling Communist Party tries to promote an image of solidarity with African nations as fellow developing economies — a counter to the accusation that it behaves like a colonial power on the continent.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the integration of cultural elements from other countries into Chinese shows was a sign of respect. It said the inclusion of the African segment was not a diplomatic issue.

"If anyone wants to seize on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala program to make a fuss, or even sow discord in relations between China and African countries, they obviously have ulterior motives," the ministry said in a statement to the Reuters news agency.

rc/dj (Reuters, AP, dpa)