Introduction" "Georgetown University?s Asian Studies program hosted a conference on November 4, 2011 entitled ?China–Myanmar Relations: The Dilemmas of Mutual Dependence.? The conference included panel discussions by scholars and government officials from China, Myanmar, Thailand, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, and the United States. With an attendance of over 150 people, it proved that discussions regarding the Sino– Myanmar relationship are able to attract interest in Washington. The conference was bookended by two critical events that have focused Washington?s attention on Myanmar?s relationship with its giant neighbour. On September 30, Naypyidaw unexpectedly suspended the construction of a major Chinese-backed infrastructure project, the Myitsone dam, a decision that was received with applause in Washington but consternation in Beijing. Then, only weeks after the conference finished, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a historic visit to Myanmar from November 30 to December 2, the first by a Secretary of State since John Foster Dulles in 1955. ?Clinton in Myanmar: All about China?? blared one headline. 1 While the truth is certainly not so simple, the role of China in America?s policy-making cannot be discounted. As Myanmar has accelerated its political and economic reforms, international interest in the Myanmar–China connection has only grown. While the Sino–Burmese relationship is complex, involving a number of layers of sometimes antithetical interests both in China and Myanmar, the conference discussions pointed to the emergence of several broad themes..."