The release from jail of Burma's most famous dissident, Aung San Suu Kyi, is problematic for China, the closest ally of Burma's military junta. For years, China has defended this brutal regime which has impoverished what was once one of East Asia's most prosperous nations. Beijing has also stood apart from other members of the international community by opposing the sanctions imposed on the regime.
Now the whiff of change percolates through Burma and, so, what does this mean for its biggest neighbour which is so closely identified with this widely vilified regime?
Suu Kyi, a resolute fighter but also a pragmatist, has been careful not to alienate Beijing following her release. However, only those who believe that the junta can remain in power forever can be confident that, after its fall, its closest diplomatic ally and biggest trading partner will not suffer consequences.
Not least is the threat to China's impressive oil and gas projects in Burma were other nations to resume normal relations with the Southeast Asian country. In these circumstances, a democratic government would be free to focus on the nation's real economic needs as opposed to deals secured by a tiny clique with little regard for Burma's prosperity.
If China had confined its alliances merely to this one repressive regime, it would be unwise to define Chinese foreign policy as being one of befriending pariah states. But this is hardly the case.
On its own borders, China is also closely allied to the dynastic dictatorship in North Korea; in fact, this alliance entirely eclipses all other relations enjoyed by the regime in Pyongyang. In return, China has what it believes to be a stable border with Korea and access to considerable coal and mineral deposits.