The United States, which is working to increase its influence in Asia, should not be considered a challenge to Myanmar's long relationship with China, according to democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
She said it would also be presumptuous to think that Beijing should learn something from Myanmar's democratic reform, though the two countries appeared to share one thing in common: corruption.
Speaking to the South China Morning Post in a small group interview on the sidelines of the Rotary Global Peace Forum in Honolulu yesterday, Suu Kyi said China's political direction should ultimately be decided by the Chinese people.
When asked by the Post for her comments on Myanmar's growing ties with the US, Suu Kyi said: "I don't think it needs to be an exclusive relationship. It doesn't mean we have to be friends either with the US or China. We need to be friends of both.
"China is a neighbour and the US is a very, very powerful nation that is eager to help with emerging democracy."
Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, spent 15 years under house arrest when the country was ruled by a junta. She was freed in November 2010 and is now a member of parliament pressing for domestic change, as well as the lifting of international sanctions.