Five hours after the message was posted, the original tweet was not only still on Mrs. Kirchner’s Twitter account, but it was “pinned” to the very top of her page, a space usually reserved for updates users want to make sure all of their readers see.

With the world's largest currency reserves, of nearly $4 trillion, China has become an increasingly important economic partner to Argentina, which has struggled financially since defaulting on bonds last year. As Bloomberg Business reported, the Chinese have helped Argentina strengthen its depleted central bank reserves through an agreement known as a currency swap.

The official Twitter account of Argentina’s presidency later shared Mrs. Kirchner’s apology, without explaining what she was apologizing for, before attempting to redirect the attention of Argentine Twitter users to highlights of her reception by her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.