At a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum in 2010, the Chinese foreign minister, angered by a question about the South China Sea dispute, declared: “China is a big country and other countries are small countries, and that is just a fact.” The authors whose essays are collected in The Deer and the Dragon examine the nature, dynamics, and implications of that fact – and the inequality that has resulted between China and the countries of Southeast Asia.   What does the history of Sino-Southeast Asian relations tell us about future possibilities? Do economic relations already suggest dependence? How do the countries of Southeast Asia view China and its intentions, and how does China see the region? What is the role of ASEAN?  How does U.S. policy affect the relative influence of China and the United States in Southeast Asia?    The National Committee held a virtual program with Dr. Donald Emmerson featuring commentary from Dr. Ann Marie Murphy on October 22, 2020. Stanford University’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center and the New York Southeast Asia Network co-sponsored the event.