ABSTRACT
Sino-American relations, long characterized by mistrust, received a severe blow on May 7, 1999 when a US bomber taking part in NATO’s Balkan air campaign set out to bomb the federal directorate for supply and procurement in Belgrade, but instead bombed the Chinese embassy. The building was targeted with “deadly accuracy”: “two bombs struck one side . . . , shearing away its polished stone façade, devastating a rear entrance and tossing large chips of tiling, cooking-gas canisters and a utility pole 20 yards.”1 A third bomb hit the roof, spewing fire and smoke out of the front of the building. Predictably, the bombing sparked outrage across China, where angry protestors, with government support, mobbed US diplomatic missions, throwing rocks and paint, calling the Americans “Nazi murderers” and demanding “blood for blood.”2 American officials apologized, blaming the error on an outdated map.
