China summons Argentine ambassador over official's social media comments

China has formally summoned the Argentine ambassador in Beijing to lodge a complaint following controversial social media statements made by Juan Pablo Carreira, the Digital Communications Director for the government of Javier Milei. Carreira, known online as ‘Juan Doe’, attributed a recent natural disaster in Nepal involving a major construction collapse to the mismanagement of Chinese state-owned enterprises and the Communist Party.

Carreira specifically claimed that a Chinese state company was constructing a massive hydroelectric facility near a glacier on the Nepal border, suggesting that ‘typical failures of state industrial organization’ led to the catastrophe. He further stated, ‘Communism kills. The Communist Party dressed as an ‘entrepreneur’ kills.’

Due to Ambassador Marcelo Suárez Salvia being on vacation, Counselor Guillermo Alberto Simunovich attended the meeting to receive the formal complaint. Reports indicate the meeting was tense, with Beijing expressing frustration that no Argentine officials had apologized for the remarks. Beyond the social media comments, China also raised concerns regarding the exclusion of Chinese companies from international tenders in Argentina and the ties between libertarian figures and Taiwan.