Reviewed by: Kai Chen, Xiamen University, ChinaHow have Chinese people understood the United States throughout the twentieth century? How have those perceptions changed? How do China's domestic politics interact with Sino-US relations? It is increasingly impossible to ignore these questions. From a number of perspectives (historical, cultural, and political), China's America by Jing Li points out that "Chinese interpretations often deviated" from American realities (167) because of cultural and political differences, and that groups within China often differed on "what to make of the United States" (229).This well-documented book has eight chapters, organized chronologically. Chapter 1 surveys Chinese views toward the United States from 1900 to 1949. The following three chapters analyze the dynamics of different groups (politicians, intellectuals, and the general population) of Chinese, their attitudes toward the United States, and the impact of China's domestic affairs on Sino-US relations from the early 1950s to 1979. In chapters 5-7, Jing Li focuses on the attitudes of the same three groups in the post-Mao era (1979-1989). The final chapter stresses the emerging factors in Chinese perceptions of the United States from 1989 to 2000.One of the book's most significant contributions is the author's re-examination of the views of selected groups within China. As Jing Li argues, Chinese attitudes toward the United States are conditional, balancing prospective benefits and costs and reflecting "the dual influence of nationalism and liberalism" (224). Historically, anti-Americanism would not exist without the existence of pro-Americanism. If the prospective benefits of pro-Americanism exceed those of anti-Americanism, pro-Americanism will prevail; if the prospective cost of pro-Americanism exceeds that of anti-Americanism, anti-Americanism will prevail. It is worth noting that Chinese politicians, intellectuals, and the general population use different standards to measure these prospective benefits and costs.For Chinese politicians, national interests and political stability must be priorities, while American influence should be kept "within certain bounds" (123). For instance, although Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong were both skeptical of American values, they chose context-sensitive policies toward the United States. However, Chinese politicians have found it difficult to maintain both positive Sino-US relations and "revolutionary morale among the Chinese people" (114).Due to the presence of numerous American charitable organizations (educational, religious, and medical), Chinese intellectuals seem relatively positive in balancing the prospective benefits and costs. In general, they consider "American ideas to be valuable stimulation for changes and improvement in China" (229). …