- 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"
Hong Kong (CNN) -- 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."
U.S. President Barack Obama poses with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan as they arrive for the APEC summit banquet November 10, 2014. Each year, APEC leaders dress up in the the host country's traditional garb for a "family photo" -- it's also been called the "silly shirts photo." 
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. 
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. 
"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. 
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. 
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.) 
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. 
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. 
With a jaunty nonchalance in Santiago (2004), George Bush showed a boxed-in Vladimir Putin how to properly fill out a poncho. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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.
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Gallery: Hits and mostly misses of the APEC fashion stakes 
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See leaders awkward photo op 
Obama committed to Asia 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.
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.
Some remained though, including this link to the photo with the loosely translated comment: "China's first lady's boundless charm wins over Mr. Putin."
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.
The headline in the Sydney Morning Herald announced that Putin "cracks on to" the first lady. Slate said he "flirts with" Peng, while Foreign Policy went with "hits on."
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.
At least Putin didn't try to snap a selfie.
That would have really sent the censors into overdrive.
CNN's Serena Dong contributed to this report.
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