Story highlights Putin caught on camera placing shawl over shoulders of Chinese leader's wife

Censors were quick to delete comments on Chinese social media

CCTV anchor said: "President Putin has placed a coat on Peng Liyuan"

It was a fleeting moment, but one that Chinese censors were quick to snuff out.

At an APEC event to watch the fireworks in Beijing on Monday night, Russian President Vladimir Putin created a few of his own by slipping a shawl over the shoulders of Peng Liyuan , wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping

A smiling Peng kindly accepted the offer, but seconds later deftly slipped the shawl off into the hands of a waiting aide.

The small act of chivalry, quickly but politely rebuffed, unfolded live on state television, with voiceover from a CCTV anchor stating simply: "President Putin has placed a coat on Peng Liyuan."

A hashtag based on the same words quickly gained momentum on social media where the video was posted and reposted, according to Foreign Policy . However, by morning, there was little trace of it left.

Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes Silly shirts season – US President Barack Obama looks like he's barely stifling a giggle in his last official APEC photo. Each year, APEC leaders dress up in the host country's traditional garb for a "family photo" -- it's also been called the "silly shirts" photo. At this year's event in Lima, Peru, leaders wore shawls made of fine wool from the South American vicuna (a relative of the llama). The shawls were widely considered an improvement on Peru's "baggy poncho" effort in 2008 (see the last slide in this gallery). Hide Caption 1 of 15 Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes Silly shirts season – In 2015, the meeting was hosted by the Philippines, which chose its barong tagalog, an embroidered white shirt made from pineapple fiber and silk. As far as embarrassing shirts go, it wasn't too bad... unlike previous years. Hide Caption 2 of 15 Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes China, 2014: Star Trek convention? – Last year it was the turn of Beijing, which opted for Mao-style jackets in shades of burgundy, teal and brown. But many thought the leaders' outfits resembled those worn by Star Trek's Captain Kirk or Spock. Hide Caption 3 of 15 Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes Indonesia, 2013: Balinese shirts – For their get-together in Bali in 2013 APEC leaders and their partners were given clothing made from traditional Balinese woven endek, stitched together by a Chinese tailor in Jakarta. Hide Caption 4 of 15 Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes Indonesia, 1994: Batik statement – From 2013, we go back in time also to Indonesia, but Bogor instead of Bali, for the second APEC meeting in 1994. Looking not at all stiff in his Javanese batik top, U.S. President Bill Clinton -- who started the funky photo tradition by passing out bomber jackets to participants at the inaugural APEC held near Seattle in 1993 -- stood front and center to celebrate the historic declaration. Hide Caption 5 of 15 Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes Canada, 1997: Cool crew – Happy Days " went off the air in 1984, but that didn't stop Team APEC from going with a Fonz motif for their big date in Vancouver in 1997. Hide Caption 6 of 15 Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes New Zealand, 1999: Cold shoulders – New Zealand can be a chilly place. Ever the gracious host, Kiwi Prime Minister Jenny Shipley and Sir Tipene O'Regan bagged the only warm weather gear available at APEC 1999, held in Auckland. Hide Caption 7 of 15 Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes China, 2001: Chinese style – Russian president Vladimir Putin effortlessly pulled off this updated version of the Chinese silk embroidered jacket worn by APEC attendees in Shanghai. George W. Bush seemed a little flummoxed by it all. (He would later gain sartorial revenge -- click on.) Hide Caption 8 of 15 Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes Mexico, 2002: Fiestawear – While the fellas played it straight with pens in the pocket, only New Zealand's Helen Clark (standing admirably to attention here) got a splash of color at APEC 2002 in Los Cabos, Mexico. Hide Caption 9 of 15 Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes Thailand, 2003: Spun gold – You'd think wearing a shirt of Thai silk spun with pure gold yarn would instantly make you a dashing figure. Yet only Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (center) seemed to truly live up to the fabric at APEC 2003 in Bangkok. Hide Caption 10 of 15 Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes APEC 2004, Santiago, Chile – With a jaunty nonchalance in Santiago (2004), George Bush showed a boxed-in Vladimir Putin how to properly fill out a poncho. Hide Caption 11 of 15 Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes South Korea, 2005: High drama – In Busan (2005), South Korea, APEC members agreed to confront pandemic health threats , such as bird flu, and to appear not at all uncomfortable with the high-waisted flair of traditional Korean hanbok. Hide Caption 12 of 15 Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes Vietnam, 2006: Robe ready – In Hanoi (2006), the gents rolled in ao dai silk tunics . But only the ladies (seen here, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark) got to top off their look with traditional headwear. Hide Caption 13 of 15 Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes Australia, 2007: Dryzabone does it – In Sydney (2007), APEC member economies issued their first Declaration on Climate Change, Energy Security and Clean Development. They did not, however, issue ultimatums on gratuitous kangaroo, Crocodile Dundee and Bloomin' Onion jokes. Hide Caption 14 of 15 Photos: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes Peru, 2008: Classic browns – Say what you want, the man knew his way around a poncho. The Andean body drapes at APEC 2008 in Lima, Peru, were made from baby alpaca shearings Hide Caption 15 of 15

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Searches for the video and hashtag on China's twitter-like Weibo and messaging service WeChat turned up a smattering of comments and broken links, leaving users to surmise that China's Internet police had deemed the material too potentially damaging to share.

A still image seems to show Putin glancing in Xi's direction as he draped the shawl. There's been no comment from Xi, who was sitting nearby, talking with an aide and President Barack Obama during the exchange, which has been dubbed "coatgate" by some media outlets.

China's state news agency, Xinhua, had no reporting on the incident, nor did state television network, CCTV.

It remains unclear what Putin's intentions were. Was he trying to further warm relations with Beijing? Or was there just a chill in the air?

Some international media saw a whole lot more.

A president's seating arrangement hasn't attracted this much attention since Obama was seen laughing with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt at Nelson Mandela's funeral.

Thorning-Schmidt with a smiling Obama

At least Putin didn't try to snap a selfie.

That would have really sent the censors into overdrive.