BEIJING — CNN said Wednesday that commentator Jack Cafferty was referring to China's leaders — not the Chinese people — when he described them as a "bunch of goons and thugs," and apologized to anyone who thought otherwise.

China had demanded an apology from Atlanta-based CNN on Tuesday after Cafferty made the comment earlier this month when he also called the country's products "junk."

It was the latest flare-up after Beijing accused Western media of bias in its reporting following violent protests in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa last month. CNN has been singled out by Chinese who say overseas news outlets are smearing China.

"CNN would like to clarify that it was not Mr. Cafferty's, nor CNN's, intent to cause offense to the Chinese people, and would apologize to anyone who has interpreted the comments in this way," the network said in an e-mailed statement.

"CNN is a network that reports the news in an objective and balanced fashion. However, as part of our coverage we also employ commentators who provide robust opinions that generate debate," it said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the comments reflect Cafferty's "ignorance and ... hostility" toward China.

"We are shocked and strongly condemn the vicious remarks by Cafferty," ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said. "We solemnly request CNN and Cafferty himself take back the malicious remarks and apologize to the Chinese people."

The famously curmudgeonly Cafferty made the remarks during an appearance on "The Situation Room" that aired April 9, according to a transcript posted on the CNN Web site.

He was speaking about the U.S. trade deficit with China when he said, according to the transcript, "We continue to import their junk with the lead paint on them and the poisoned pet food and export, you know, jobs to places where you can pay workers a dollar a month to turn out the stuff that we're buying from Wal-Mart."

"So I think our relationship with China has certainly changed," he continued. "I think they're basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years."

CNN has already pointed out a clarification Cafferty made Monday on "The Situation Room."

On his comment about the goons and thugs, "I was referring to the Chinese government, and not to Chinese people or to Chinese-Americans," he said on the program.

"It should be noted that over many years, Jack Cafferty has expressed critical comments on many governments, including the U.S. government and its leaders," CNN's statement said.

Chinese at home and abroad have denounced Western media for what it said was slanted reports about the unrest in Tibet. They say the news outlets have unjustly criticized Beijing in its crackdown, ignoring the region's history of feudalism under the Dalai Lama and its economic development under communist rule.

Numerous Web postings, YouTube videos and Facebook groups have criticized the Tibet news coverage, including a Web site called anti-cnn.com, which was set up especially to point out alleged media bias.