When the Chinese first came to know that there was a country on the other side of the Pacific Ocean called the United States of "America" and needed to name it in Chinese, they chose the phonetically translated "Mei Guo," which literally means "the beautiful(mei)country(guo)."A Chinese who happens to hear this name would have a romantic image of America, even though he or she might have little knowledge of the country.

    Since then, Chinese have become familiar with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, and with the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Pearl Harbor Incident and the outstanding service and sacrifice of the American people during the Second World War, However, compared to its images of other Western countries, the Chinese images of the United States have shown greater complexity and inconsistency, in light of historical events such as the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Sino-Us Shanghai Joint Communique in 1972,and more recent issues.

     It is helpful to explore the role of the media in Sino-Us relations. Just as many Americans believe the Chinese media to be monolithic and subservient to government dictates, many Chinese believe the U.S. media to be obsessed with sensationalism and biased against China. How can thoughtful Chinese and Americans explore these perceptual differences and thus build bridges between peoples in the 21st century?

    当初，中国人刚刚知道远隔太平洋的彼岸有一个国家叫美利坚时，就给她起了一个最好的中国式的名字--美国（美丽的国度）。这样一个好名字，会使一个不了解美国的中国人对她也自然地产生好感。

    中国人孰知华盛顿、杰斐逊和林肯，也熟知独立战争、南北战争，珍珠港事件和美国人在二战中的贡献。

    伴随着朝鲜战争、越南战争，1972年中美上海联合公报及冷战后美国媒体对中国的具有明显偏见的报道，中国人对美国的看法比对任何一个外国都显得更为复杂和富有变化。

Zhao Qizheng, Minister in Charge of the Information Office of the State Council, People's Republic of China. Graduated from the Modern Physics Department of the University of Science and Technology of China in 1963,Zhao is an expert in nuclear physics. In 1986, he became a standing member of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, and served as Head of the Organization Department of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee. He was elected Vice Mayor of Shanghai in 1991,and he concurrently held the post of Governor of the Shanghai Pudong New Area in 1993. He assumed the present post in 1998.

    赵启正，中国核物理专家，教授级高级工程师。1963年毕业于中国科技大学近代物理系。1986年任上海市委常委。组织部长。1991年被选为上海市副市长，1993年兼任上海浦东新区管委会主任。1998年任中国国务院新闻办公室主任。