While Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, were engaged in a very public row over the deportation of migrants last month, China’s ambassador to Bogotá was enthusiastically tweeting that diplomatic relations between China and Colombia had reached their “best moment”.

After Petro refused to receive a plane from the US carrying handcuffed deported Colombians, Trump retaliated by doubling tariffs and revoking visas for Colombian government officials.

Petro was quickly forced to back down, but while tensions were still high, Beijing’s ambassador, Zhu Jingyang, posted 38 tweets celebrating ties between China and Colombia, including photos and videos of a lunar new year celebration in Bogotá.

“We are experiencing the best moment in our diplomatic relations,” he wrote, linking to an interview he had given a local newspaper published a day earlier. Asked about the timing, Zhu said “it had nothing to do with what is happening today, and I do NOT have the magic to predict or anticipate”, he posted, adding two laughing emojis.