BEIJING - In the latest effort to ease two decades of sanctions, Myanmar is rolling out the red carpet for US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in the first visit by such a high-level US official to the country in 56 years.

Clinton arrived in Myanmar on Wednesday, kicking off a three-day visit more than half a century after John Foster Dulles, then US secretary of state, visited the country in 1955.

Her trip will include stops in Naypyitaw, the capital, where she will meet President Thein Sein and other senior officials, and Yangon, where she will meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Washington said this visit was in response to a series of moves taken by Myanmar's new civilian government since March.

Obama has hailed these moves as "flickers of progress".

"Myanmar has indeed taken a series of moves in favor of the West, amid hopes of improving its international image," said Yang Baoyun, deputy director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Peking University.

These include the opening of dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the freeing of 200 political detainees and moves toward a more open media and Internet environment.

But a decision by Myanmar President Thein Sein to suspend work on a $3.6 billion Chinese mega-dam project has prompted speculation that Myanmar is wooing the West at the expense of China's interests.

Analysts said though these concerns make sense, they fail to take into account the long-standing ties between China and Myanmar.

With an investment of $9.6 billion as of this August, China is the largest investor in Myanmar, according to Chinese government statistics. The investment is in sectors including gas, hydropower, infrastructure and mining.

Song Qingrun, a Myanmar studies researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, insisted that the issue is a commercial dispute rather than a political one, noting that the top leaders of the two sides have worked extensively to avoid the issue spilling over to affect bilateral relations.

A few days after the shelving of the hydropower project, Thein Sein sent Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin as his special envoy to Beijing to explain the issue. And, during his meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao, Myanmar's Vice-President Tin Aung Myint Oo vowed to seek a proper solution to protect common interests.

The Clinton visit, according to analysts, is an attempt to diversify Myanmar's diplomatic channels and shake off the sanctions rather than a bid to undermine relations with China.

Last month, in the first interview with a major Western news organization in years, Myanmar's government told The Wall Street Journal that the Washington should recognize its recent string of reforms and abandon economic sanctions that are hurting its ability to open up further.

"If we receive international cooperation during this time, we will be able to move forward much faster in our development process and of course this will be of interest to both sides," said Myanmar Information and Culture Minister U Kyaw Hsan.

Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of Myanmar's armed forces, met Vice-President Xi Jinping in Beijing just two days before Clinton's visit to Myanmar.

"The sanctions deteriorated Myanmar's economy and severely limited its foreign investment," Yang said. More than 70 percent of foreign investment in Myanmar comes from China and Thailand.

However, the US refrained from saying whether Clinton's visit would lead to the lifting of sanctions. US officials framed this as a "fact-finding" visit that would not directly result in an easing of sanctions.

Myanmar needs to release all political prisoners and make progress in ending conflicts with ethnic minority groups before Washington can consider lifting sanctions, Reuters quoted US officials as saying.

Yang said Clinton's meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, which is expected on Friday, will have a direct impact on Washington's attitude.

Asked if China is worried that the visit would undermine China's relationship with Myanmar, Foreign Minister spokesman Hong Lei said China welcomed Myanmar having improved relations with Western countries on the basis of mutual respect and hoped this would assist the country's stability and development.