SYDNEY ¨C An Air New Zealand plane on its way to Shanghai was forced to return to Auckland after several hours in the air Saturday because paperwork for the flight included a reference to Taiwan, Stuff reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The problem related to documentation from New Zealand¡¯s Civil Aviation Authority which was included as part of Air New Zealand¡¯s application to allow the aircraft to land in China, the report said. Officials in Beijing had warned the airline to remove any references which suggested Taiwan was a state, however the issue was not resolved, according to the report.

In an emailed statement the Auckland-based carrier said a Boeing Co. 787-9 Dreamliner that entered its fleet late last year and was not yet certified to fly to China was ¡°unfortunately assigned¡± for the Shanghai flight. As the original application had lapsed, a fresh one was submitted, it added.

¡°As is required, the application includes a list of destinations the airline operates to, including Taipei,¡± Air New Zealand said, without elaborating.

China has waged a campaign to force global businesses to conform to its world view if they want to stay in its good graces, including a demand to refer to Taiwan as Chinese territory. The democratically governed island has been a central issue among the territorial disputes, especially after the Trump administration¡¯s growing ties with the island¡¯s President Tsai Ing-wen, who was elected from a pro-independence party.

Some airlines, including American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., United Continental Holdings Inc., Hawaiian Holdings Inc., Qantas Airways Ltd., Air France-KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa AG cooperated with China¡¯s wishes on reference to Taiwan before a deadline last year.

China and New Zealand were quick to downplay the controversy.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying blamed the flight¡¯s temporary deployment hiccup as a reason for the denial of authorization to land in China, citing news reports she read online, according to the ministry¡¯s website.

¡°This airplane failed to obtain a landing permit with its destination and decided on its own accord to return en route,¡± she said.

New Zealand¡¯s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, in comments aired on a television channel, dismissed concerns the returned flight was a sign of strains between the two countries, adding the temporary plane wasn¡¯t registered. ¡°That was a consequence,¡± she said.

China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since the nationalist Kuomintang government fled to Taiwan after the civil war defeat in the 1940s. China¡¯s Communist Party regards the island as its territory to be taken by force if necessary.