UW-Stevens Point Sino-American expert publishes book

Jianwei Wang, associate professor of political science and recipient of a prestigious MacArthur Foundation grant, has written a book on Sino-American relations in the post Cold War era.

"Limited Adversaries, Post-Cold War Sino-American Mutual Images" is a 300-page book published by Oxford University Press. This $45 hardcover edition is a groundbreaking study of U.S./China mutual perceptions in the post-Tiananmen Square era. The underlying premise of Wang’s book is that perception and images are instrumental to understanding the nature, limitations and potentials of the relationship between China and America.

Wang interviewed more than 250 Chinese and American intellectuals, diplomats and business people both here and in China. These interviews provided unique data for his in-depth analysis of how the two countries perceive each other in terms of people, society, culture, and international behavior.

Wang argues that prior to the 1970s, China was perceived as an enemy of the United States and vise versa. During the 1970s and 80s they were "quasi-allies" as the United States tried to leverage this relationship against the former Soviet Union. Now due to the "structural uncertainty" in the post Cold War world, the Sino-American mutual image is better defined as "limited adversaries," which provides opportunities for both cooperation and conflict. Wang does concede that people in both China and the United States have a more sophisticated view of one another as they enter the 21^st century. However, he believes more can and should be done to limit miscues between the two nations.

According to Wang, "There remain numerous misperceptions on both sides. These misperceptions may help explain the historically unstable relationship between these two countries. It is incumbent upon the U.S. and Chinese governments to minimize these misperceptions by increasing political, cultural and economic ties across the board."

As an expert on Sino-American relations, Wang has frequently been consulted and interviewed by media both in the U.S. and abroad. A native of China, he holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from Fudan University in Shanghai and a doctorate from the University of Michigan.

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