Xi's government hasn't shown much tolerance for controversial political statements, no matter who makes them or what the intent of the statement was. So it's not much of a surprise Li's tank-shaped ice cream hit a nerve.

The tank shape is a sensitive symbol in China, associated by many with the Tiananmen massacre in 1989. On the eve of June 4, 1989, Chinese leaders sent in tanks and heavily armed troops to clear Beijing's Tiananmen Square, where student protesters had gathered for weeks to demand democracy and greater freedoms.

The crackdown, which killed hundreds, if not thousands, of unarmed protesters, is shunned in classrooms and strictly censored in media. It is unlikely that people born in mainland China after the incident have much knowledge about it.

Wallis said that Li hasn't ever been overtly political, and he wouldn't have had anything to gain by trying to make a political statement.

"Regarding Li Jiaqi, I really do think it was an innocent mistake," Wallis added. "And, as many have pointed out, most of his fans would probably not even realize any connection between the shape of the ice cream cake and June 4th."

But the swift ban on him indicates how sensitive Chinese censors might be in this environment, she said.