A tweet from Small Business and Export Promotion Minister Mary Ng showing her and others eating at an ice cream parlour of a Canadian-owned company in Beijing is being criticized as tone deaf to the ongoing detention of two Canadians in China.

On Tuesday, Ng posted a tweet that said: “When in #Beijing, you dropped (sic.) by @COWSICECREAM — a true Cdn #smallbiz success story from #PrinceEdwardIsland! The (world) needs more of all the great things (Canada) has to offer, (ice cream) included, and that’s why I am dedicated to helping #SMEs start-up, scale-up, & access new markets.” (The original tweet had emojis where the bracketed words are written).

In the tweet are photos of her smiling and eating ice cream at a Cows Ice Cream store in China’s capital.

https://twitter.com/mary_ng/status/1146097446596087809

Sen. Peter Harder, the government representative in the Senate and previous head of the Canada-China Business Council, is also pictured in the photos. The two senior Liberals are in the country for an annual World Economic Forum meeting taking place July 1-3 in the nearby city of Dalian.

However, Ng’s post was quickly criticized online for what some saw as poor taste, given that Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been in Chinese detention for almost seven months.

“’Let them eat ice cream …’— How incredibly out of touch considering the treatment of our citizens,” Conservative foreign affairs critic Erin O’Toole tweeted in response.

Kovrig and Spavor were arrested last December in a move widely seen as retaliation for the Vancouver arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who is facing possible extradition to the United States to face criminal charges for Huawei’s alleged attempt to circumvent American sanctions against Iran.

Concerns have been raised over their living conditions in Chinese custody, and today, the Globe and Mail reported that Kovrig’s reading glasses were confiscated.

According to the Globe, Kovrig and Spavor were also moved in early June from solitary confinement to a detention centre more akin to a jail after being formally charged with stealing state secrets. They are also reportedly kept in rooms where the lights are on 24 hours a day and continue to face interrogations.

Gordon Houlden, director of the University of Alberta’s China Institute, said given the current diplomatic situation “it is probably best to avoid giving the impression that we are in a business as usual environment.”

“But the government still needs to find ways to protect our economic interests in China while doing everything possible to help Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor,” he said. “It’s a delicate balance.”

Houlden, a former diplomat, said he believes it’s important for Canadian ministers to continue to visit China so they can present Chinese leaders with Canada’s views on the detainees and on other issues where China matters, such as trade and human rights.

He said balancing competing interests abroad is a challenge that “comes up every time that a foreign government misbehaves.”

In a statement sent to iPolitics, a spokesperson for Ng said “our absolute priority is the well-being and safety of Canadians detained in China.”

“We take every opportunity to raise these cases with Chinese officials, including at the highest level,” said press secretary Corinne Havard. The minister’s office did not clarify by deadline whether Ng raised the issue with officials she met.

“As minister of small business and export promotion, Minister Ng is responsible for promoting Canadian businesses’ interests, and exploring opportunities and new markets for our businesses in the broader Asia-Pacific region and globally,” Havard added.

“It is our continued responsibility to support the success of Canadian businesses around the world.”

China also suspended Canadian exports of meat into its borders last week, after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency discovered several dozen veterinary health certificates had been forged.

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and International Trade Minister Jim Carr met with leaders from the pork and beef sectors in Quebec on Wednesday.

Asked about the tweet and whether ministerial visits to China should continue, Carr said trade goes on despite the difficult diplomatic situation.

“Business continues in China,” he said. “We’re going through a difficult period and we’re working very hard to solve the issues that are in front of us, but meanwhile there’s lots of commerce going on.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson also warned Canada today to not be “naive” in thinking the U.S. can help in the ongoing spat.