Argentinian President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has learned the hard way that making fun of the accent of her host, China, does not sit well with her countrymen especially when she is seeking billions of dollars in aid from her host.

Kirchner tweeted on Wednesday that more than a thousand business leaders showed up in a forum she attended. The diplomatically risky part came when she tweeted in pidgin Spanish, making fun of the way some Chinese would substitute "l" for an "r."

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So, "rice" became "lice"; "petloleum" for petroleum; and "La Campola" for the name of the youth wing of Kirchner's party, "La Campora."

Seconds after sending her tweets, netizens expressed dismay over her supposed play on words, calling her social media post "racist and xenophobic."

The Argentinean leader was quick to soften the impact of her mock Spanish, tweeting "sorry" and explaining that the levels of absurdity and ridiculousness are so high, they can only be taken with humor.

As if the flak she drew over Twitter was not enough, the same mocking moments appeared on Kirchner's official page several minutes later. Argentineans posted a deluge of comments just how irked they are with their president, with hash tags using the mock words in her tweet.

Official Chinese media apparently ignored the Argentinean president's tweets. State-run television presented a clean report of Kirchner's meeting with China's President Xi Jinping, adding the two leaders had "cemented" economic and political ties.

Argentina has been pursuing better economic and business ties with dollar-rich China. After defaulting on bonds last year, Argentina found reprieve from Beijing by beefing up its dwindling central bank reserves through a currency swap deal.

After facing a raft of criticism, Argentina's official presidential Twitter account shared Kirchner's apology, without an explanation what she was "solly" for. The tweet tried to focus attention on the reception of China's president.

TagsArgentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Chinese accent, Twitter gaffe, rice, Petroleum