Ever after the Korea War,the two sides entered two decades of confrontation,highlighted in China by the slogan"down with American imperialism" and in the US by a seal in American citizens’s passports which read"Invalid for China entry." The prolonged confrontation and isolation had made it hard for both sides to acquire accurate information about each other,so much so that before Henry Kissinger’s first secret trip to China in 1971,both President Nixon and Kissinger were genuinely worried whether they needed to observe China’s ancient rituals of kneeling down and kowtowing while greeting top officials in China.
However,there is no such thing as born enemies -- no countries are destined to be eternal enemies. China and the US are no exception. Towards the end of the and the beginning of the 1970s,both China and the US felt a strong need to approach each other and mend their relationship. In February 1972,President Nixon embarked upon an ice-breaking trip to China. Braving Beijing’s chilly early spring winds,Premier Zhou Enlai held out his hands in greeting. Mao Zedong received Nixon in his study decked with shelves of books,where they discussed international situations and philosophical issues,ushering in a new era in the Sino-US relationship.
American songs,both those from the 1930s as well as the ones popular in the 1970s,including Yankee Doodle,were widely sung in China. Chinese people also wrote songs to applaud the rejuvenated friendship. A smash hit at that time was Seqouia - the Great Wall. Speaking of the euphoria involving Sino-US friendship at that time,I am reminded of an interesting episode in 1979,when the two countries formally established a diplomatic relationship. To mark the new relationship,a well-known cookie store in Shanghai prepared a huge pagoda-shaped cake. Atop the cake were two kids,a Chinese and an American. Standing shoulder to shoulder,each of them carried the national flag of their country. At the base of the cake were four Chinese characters painted with jams： Sino-American Friendship,which expressed the common aspirations of the Chinese people. To cater to the demand of tea lovers who were very particular about tea sets,factories even produced cups printed with the national flags of China and the US.
During January and February 1979,Deng Xiaoping paid a visit to the US,which led to extensive coverage of the distant and mysterious land by the Chinese media,which even carried a picture of Deng donning a cowboy hat. Ever since then,the Chinese media have devoted much space to cover US politics,economics,culture and society,thus painting a picture of the real US to the Chinese public.
American people have long impressed Chinese with their creativity and can-do spirit. As early as 1944,upon returning from a visit to the US,well-known Chinese writer Xiao Qian spoke of his strong impression of this trait of American people："While in nightclubs,the Americans just enjoy themselves and think of nothing else; while at work,they are equally fully committed. In the irrigated area of Tennessee,I’ve seen Americans,including a chief engineer,roll up their sleeves and go for it the moment they decide to start an undertaking. This is the spirit we Chinese should adopt."
Chinese people also hold in high esteem the scientific and technological achievements made by American people,such as the Apollo Project and Silicon Valley. Outlets of McDonald’s and KFC can easily be spotted in Chinese cities. A university education in the US is the dream of many Chinese college students. According to China’s educational departments,the total number of Chinese students studying in the US has reached 120，000 since 1978. The number of American students studying in China exceeds 10，000.
Still,we have to acknowledge that the development of the Sino-US relationship is not smooth as some stumbling blocks exist between the two countries,such as the trade imbalance,the Dalai Lama,the Taiwan issue and human rights. Though Chinese media occasionally do carry stories critical of America’s China policy,by and large they are rather balanced in reporting the social progresses made in the US. Much to their dismay,many Chinese find that US media reports about China,in sharp contrast,are often scanty,inaccurate and prejudicial. As a result,misunderstanding persists between the two peoples,as can be evidenced by the recent story of a chief executive of a radio station in Washington D.C. During his visit to China Radio International,he carried with him a large amount of ready food,for he was worried that food supply was a serious problem in China.
