Relations between the world's biggest mining company and (arguably) the world's most important economy have been under strain for the past few years, with the pair finding differences of opinion on several issues.
Firstly, there's plenty of resentment in China towards BHP over the way the Big Australian dragged Chinese steel makers kicking and screaming into overhauls of the contracting pricing systems used in iron ore and coking coal markets.
BHP led the way in scrapping annual contract prices in favour of quarterly and then monthly pricing, a move that exposed China's steel makers to increased volatility (the fact China was so resistant in accepting the changes also suggests they'd been on the right side of the ledger more often than not under the old annual system).
Secondly, there's lingering resentment over the perceived role BHP played in spoiling the proposed deal that the Chinese government, through its state-owned arm Chinalco, had struck to buy major stakes in key mining assets of Rio Tinto back during the global financial crisis.
BHP convinced Rio to ditch the Chinese and pursue a merger of their respective iron ore operations.
Rio walked away from Chinalco and by the time regulators blocked the iron ore merger, Rio had sufficiently recovered from its GFC woes to go it alone without any new Chinese backing.
Despite having been through the messy Stern Hu affair, Rio and China have since managed to kiss and make up.
BHP and China, however, appear to be on somewhat shakier ground.
So with the two powerhouses not exactly the best of buddies, you can be sure plenty of those in China reading about the problems with BHP's shale gas projects will be smiling.
For those who missed it, BHP last week signalled it would shift the focus of its US shale assets - acquired for the best part of $20 billion last year - away from gas towards the more liquids-rich fields due to the ultra-low gas prices afflicting US markets.
As EnergyNewsPremium's Slugcatcher eloquently and inimitably argued on Monday, a write-down of the assets looked inevitable.
Beyond that schadenfreude, there's also a practical reason for China to revel in BHP's shale gas misfortune.
Basically, bad news out of the US shale gas industry is good news for China.
Securing energy assets is a key objective of the Chinese government and every bit of negative news helps drive down the price of those assets.
It's worth noting that earlier this month, just days before BHP came clean with its shale gas headaches, China was buying up even more North American assets.
In this instance, PetroChina - which has to date lagged its peers Sinopec and CNOOC in the push into North America - announced an estimated $1 billion deal to take a 20% in Royal Dutch Shell's shale gas properties in British Columbia.
PetroChina is just as aware of the weak fundamentals afflicting BHP's investment but is still pushing ahead with acquisitions.
PetroChina and its peers have an eye on the longer term game and in this instance it is all about securing affordable long-life assets - whether they have current profitability or not.
North American shale gas may not be a great business for those trying to service the local market but for China, the resources and reserves look a nice cheaper alternative to more LNG imports.
BHP and its shale gas problems should help keep both investor sentiment towards the sector and the price of shale gas assets low.
In owning up to the difficult conditions afflicting its shale gas arm, BHP may have finally done China a favour.
