It must have been the power dinner of the half-century.

Representing the United States was Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Secretary of State, a onetime U.S. Senator, former First Lady of the nation, author, and a once and possibly future presidential aspirant.

From the Union of Burma came Aung San Suu Kyi, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, daughter of a national hero, leader of her country’s major opposition political party, author, and perhaps the most admired woman in Asia.

They dined for three hours alone Thursday evening in Ms. Suu Kyi’s home that someone who has been there described as set idyllically on the banks of a scenic lake in Rangoon. Here she had unflinchingly endured years of house arrest while Burma was ground under the heels of a military junta.

For Ms. Clinton, her mission was to carry forward the Obama administration’s “pivot” away from the Middle East and toward Asia. She has been the architect, or at least chief advocate of that strategy, as she has cut a wide swath through Hawaii, the Philippines, Indonesia, and South Korea to Burma in the last few months.

Ms. Suu Kyi’s fetters have gradually been loosened by a regime that evidently needs help in overcoming the economic misery of Burma, also known as Myanmar. The visit by the American was a chance to get outside support for her effort to rid her nation of political oppression.

On Friday morning, standing in front of her home after another long session with her supporters and Secretary Clinton, Ms. Suu Kyi struck a hopeful note. She said that “if we all work together – and by ‘we,’ I mean the Government of Burma, the opposition in Burma, our friends from the United States and all over the world.”

She concluded that she was “confident that there will be no turning back from the road towards democracy. We are not on that road yet, but we hope to get there as soon as possible with the help and understanding of our friends.”

Secretary Clinton responded: “You have been an inspiration.” She added: “The people have been courageous and strong in the face of great difficulty over too many years. We want to see this country take its rightful place in the world.”

It seemed a natural alliance. A good part of the “pivot” turns on reassuring U.S. allies and friends in Asia that President Obama, who is not known for strength in foreign and security policy, means to keep the U.S. engaged in Asia. That also means cultivating new Asian friends such as Burma and Vietnam, an adversary not so long ago.

Left unsaid, at least in public, was the administration’s effort to counter the influence of China, which has long been evident in Burma on the southern border of China. Some U.S. analysts say China’s objective is to obtain an overland route through Burma to the sea to bypass its reliance on the sealanes through the South China Sea.

China’s reaction to Clinton’s journey was distinctly cool. The People’s Daily, published by the Communist Party, said that Clinton’s visit to Myanmar “will further unnerve China, which has recently been increasingly worried that the aim of the new U.S. Asian policy is to isolate and encircle China.”

Besides Aung San Suu Kyi, the secretary met with President Thein Sein, a former general, and other government senior officials, with political associates of Ms. Suu Kyi, and with representatives of Burma’s many minority tribes that have long been fighting the government.

After meeting with the president, Ms. Clinton told the press: “President Thein Sein has taken the first steps toward a long-awaited opening. His government has eased some restrictions on the media and civil society, opened a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, rewritten election and labor laws, and released 200 prisoners of conscience.”

“I assured him that these reforms have our support,” she said. She added, however, that “they are just a beginning” and noted that “over a thousand are still not free.”

On a positive note, the secretary suggested that if the reforms were fully implemented, the U.S. would consider opening diplomatic relations and lifting economic sanctions imposed years ago. She cautioned that progress would be measured by actions, not words.

Ms. Clinton, who has visited the East-West Center here several times, also announced that the U.S. intended to “launch a people-to-people exchange program that will include a substantial English language teaching initiative in partnership with ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations} and the East-West Center.”