In an article about Vladimir Putin's recent visit to North Korea, China's official Xinhua news agency proclaimed that the trip must have struck a chord in Washington.
What the Chinese propaganda mouthpiece naturally omitted was that the meeting between Putin and Kim Jong Un, which sealed a mutual defense assistance agreement, must have irritated another major capital: Beijing.
President Xi Jinping has watched warily for months as two important, if difficult, partners come together, with Pyongyang supplying Moscow with much-needed munitions for its invasion of Ukraine in exchange for promises of better military technology.
Publicly, China has refrained from any criticism. But the signs of discomfort are increasing. In April, Xi sent the top Chinese Communist Party official to visit North Korea in five years to reaffirm the deep friendship between the two sides.
Analysts believe China fears that Kim's deepening ties with Putin could increase his sense of independence from Beijing. If he becomes emboldened, the North Korean dictator could embark on more missile tests that threaten to destabilize an already tense region.
Putin's latest visit will do nothing to allay these concerns. The leaders of Russia and North Korea signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, which pledges to provide immediate military and other assistance by all available means in the event of an attack, according to a translation by NK News.
The problem for China, said Shen Dingli, a Chinese professor of international studies, was that Beijing and Pyongyang had their own mutual defense agreement in the Treaty of Amity, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, first signed in 1961.
This would mean that if Pyongyang felt compelled to get involved in one of Russia's wars, such as the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow's enemies could attack North Korea. This in turn could trigger the mutual defense treaty between Beijing and Pyongyang, putting China in the hot seat.
North Korea has unnecessarily placed China in a very dangerous situation, Shen said.
Other scholars are more optimistic, pointing out that the Sino-North Korean treaty was signed decades ago and that Beijing's interpretation of it has evolved. Ren Xiao, a professor at the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University, said the deal with China does not mean automatic military involvement in a conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
Bilateral relations between China and North Korea have long been difficult, prompting some analysts to characterize them as bitter allies. Pyongyang regularly launches military provocations against its neighbors, causing consternation in Beijing by disrupting regional stability.
The language of the Russian-North Korean treaty may also have been sufficiently vague to allow room for maneuver for both sides. During the Soviet era, the two countries also concluded a mutual defense agreement, but this was never invoked despite several significant clashes and ultimately lapsed.
The caveat is about what would constitute assistance, said Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, a think tank in Washington. So it seems like they left this pretty vague.
All of which leaves the question of why Kim and Putin, who are more dependent than ever on Xi, might risk annoying their powerful partner.
Shen suggested they might feel China hasn't helped them enough. Putin would like China to provide him with more than just dual-use technology to help his war in Ukraine and wants Beijing to buy more Russian gas.
Kim, for his part, might believe that Beijing is not providing enough support to his regime against the United States and its allies. When leaders of China, Japan and South Korea discussed denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula at a trilateral summit last month, Pyongyang denounced the discussion as a serious political provocation.
Kim also called Russia North Korea's most honest friend during Putin's recent visit as an implicit dig at China that echoes Pyongyang's skill at toying with Beijing and Moscow during the Cold War . Both leaders were eager to demonstrate that they had more friends than Beijing.
Few expect visible protests from Beijing. He still wants to stay away from some kind of three-way strategic agreement with the two rogue nations.
Hinting at Beijing's frustration, Xinhua was dismissive of North Korea's potential trade contribution to Russia. North Korea cannot provide a significant impetus for Russia to emerge from its economic difficulties in the short term, Xinhua wrote.
It is not said that in terms of economic support, China was practically the only possible choice for Putin.
For Xi, who boasts of his personal relationship with Putin, the episode is a reminder that friendship counts for little in the exercise of diplomacy, even in a limitless partnership like the one China claims to have with Russia.
