On Being Friends - China and Iran

Mostly I leave foreign politics aside: Somewhat narrowing down your focus a bit is unavoidable when dealing with China. But this article in The Telegraph show a nice twist that has not been picked up by many others.
Crunch of the story: China provided the United Nations information about Iran about its nuclear program, when its long-term friend was engaged in a fierce conflict about that program.

Beijing is believed to have decided to assist the inspectors after documents seized from Iranian officials included blueprints for "shaping" uranium metal into warheads, the testing of high explosives used to detonate radioactive material and the procurement of dual-use technology.

Much of the new material was presented to the governors of the Vienna-based IAEA in February. That meeting is said to have triggered China's change of heart.

It is probably an unavoidable part of playing a role as a responsible world power: the friend-making routine is changing.