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It should be remembered that the Chinese ambassador to Burma was amongst the first to congratulate the NLD on its victory ten years ago. China was also believed to have played a role in nudging the regime towards dialogue in 1995. But this has done little to diminish resentment over China’s growing influence in Burma. Local Chinese are especially concerned about the occasional flare-ups of anti-Chinese sentiment that have a great deal to do with perceptions that Beijing is the major force behind the hated regime. If China is not overly concerned at this stage about what the Burmese people think, it should at least pay attention to the demands of its own people. Although the country is set to become a member of a World Trade Organization (WTO) and hopes to enjoy a more important role on the world economic stage, it continues to lag in its recognition of a growing international consensus that favors more popular participation in political processes. Once Chinese leaders come to appreciate the value of democracy as an essential element in any nation’s quest for development, they will surely understand why the Burmese people continue to believe in the choice that they made a decade ago. And China will, in turn, finally become the trusted and respected partner that it has long sought to be.