A hiding for being a friend to the old Chinese (7)

I believe the answer is:

palming

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'a hiding for being a' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'friend to the old chinese' is the wordplay.
'friend' becomes 'pal' (pal can mean a friend).
'to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'the old chinese' becomes 'ming' (Chinese dynasty. I am not sure about the 'old' bit.).
'pal'+'ming'='PALMING'

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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