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In September 2013, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, on the sideline of the 10th China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit held in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China, remarked that China and Myanmar are each other's shield in geographical relations, share the same destiny and the friendship between the two peoples enjoys a long history.1 The verity of the statement cannot be doubted. Since the independence of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC), China and Myanmar have been friends in need. Since the time of Kuomintang (KMT), China has been proactively involved in the country. On 18 December 1949, Myanmar became the first noncommunist country to recognise the PRC. Since then the bilateral relations have been marked by frequent exchange of high-level visits and heightened economic cooperation. There were a few flashpoints in their bilateral relations such as China's support to the Burma Communist Party (BCP) in the 1950s, the boundary dispute, lingering apprehensions about China on Myanmar's part, and Myanmar's proximity to the Indian leadership. However, Myanmar's leadership opted for a more neutral foreign policy in the Asian region with a little tilt towards China. In the initial phase of their relations, first Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and first Prime Minister of Burma, U Nu laid down the foundation of their relations. Zhou Enlai visited Myanmar in June 1954, which was reciprocated by U Nu in November 1954. The visit proved to be a major milestone in their relations. Owing to the positive developments in China-Myanmar ties in the 1950s, Myanmarese leadership termed their relationship with China as the relation of that of Pauk-Phaw (a Myanmarese word for kinsfolk). Moreover, with the coming of General Ne Win to power in 1958, Myanmar's relations with China improved significantly.
Further, in the 1960s, resolution of the China-Myanmar boundary dispute about 2,200 km long boundary was a landmark event in their relations. On 28 January 1960, two important agreements, namely: 'Question of the Boundary between the Two Countries' and the Treaty of 'Friendship and Mutual Non-Aggression', were signed. Myanmar remained one of the first countries with which China initiated negotiations for the settlement of their common boundary in the late...