The current study investigated how US newspapers reported on new leadersj in China based upon the change of the US-China relations. It attempted to explore the media's agenda-setting function affected by the US foreign policy in directing the contents of US international news by analyzing the characteristics of new Chinese leaders reported by US newspapers. The results indicated that the coverage of Chinese leaders reported by the US newspapers were influenced by the US-China relation based upon agenda-setting theory, and second-level agenda setting also took place in the interactions between mass media and foreign policy.[China Media Research. 2008; 4 (1): 29-35]