So much for dipromacy. Argentinian President Cristina Kirchner's tweets from Beijing have set off a row over racism and good taste.

""Did they only come for lice and petloleum,” she tweeted, in Spanish, during a state visit to Beijing earlier this week, playing off a common misconception that native Chinese speakers have trouble pronouncing Ls and Rs – a common misconception.

Kirchner kind of apologized shortly afterward, saying, "Sorry, the levels of ridiculousness and absurdity are so high they can only be digested with humor," according to The Daily Telegraph.

Not too clever for the leader of a nation that desperately needs investment from China in various projects, which is why Kirchner is visiting China in the first place.

We'd also like to know: which VPN is President Kirchner using? Did she tweet from her phone?

Photo: Dealbreaker