During a pivotal meeting on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed President Donald Trump with a stark warning about the potential for future conflict between the United States and China.
Xi invoked the notion of the “Thucydides Trap,” a geopolitical theory that describes the dangers that can emerge when a rising power threatens to displace an established one.
“The entire world is watching our dialogue,” Xi declared from within Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, as President Trump listened intently from across the table.
He elaborated, stating, “The globe is experiencing transformations unseen in a century, with the international landscape becoming increasingly volatile and uncertain. The world stands at a new crossroads,” according to a translation of his remarks.
Xi posed critical questions: “Can China and the United States avoid the Thucydides trap and forge a new model of relations between major countries? Are we capable of confronting global challenges together and providing greater stability for the world? For the benefit of our peoples and the future of humanity, can we shape a brighter future for our bilateral relations?”
Xi has been citing the Thucydides Trap—a term popularized by Harvard scholar Graham Allison—since at least 2014 in reference to the United States. This theory, named after the ancient Greek historian Thucydides, suggests that the rise of Athens instilled such apprehension in Sparta that war became unavoidable.
Xi described the issues facing the US and China as “questions vital to history” and to “the world and to the people.”
Trump, who spoke after Xi, didn’t specifically address his counterpart’s remarks but predicted: “The relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.”
“It’s an honor to be with you. It’s an honor to be your friend,” Trump said.
“I really look very much forward to our discussion,” he added. “It’s a big discussion. There are those that say, this is maybe the biggest summit ever.”
The two delegations met for about two hours inside the Great Hall.
Xi’s ‘key message’
Some experts, however, did not interpret Xi’s remarks as foreboding.
“What Xi Jinping said in that speech is that we can transcend the Thucydides trap,” Sky News Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith said. “So what he’s saying is that, you know, ‘We are an upcoming power and you should not be threatened by us.’
“That’s his key message.”
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Ahead of the meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged Xi’s ambitions but was adamant China’s “rise cannot come at our expense.”
“They believe they will be the world’s most powerful country, they’ll surpass the United States, and they have a plan to do it, and they’re executing on that plan, and I don’t blame them,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox News’ “Hannity.”
Rubio insisted the Trump administration is “not trying to constrain China” but would also not allow it to attain power and influence at the expense of the US.
“Their rise cannot come at our fall. So there’s an area where we’re just going to have a difference of opinion,” Rubio said.
“That’ll come up on this trip,” the top US diplomat added, “but more importantly, that’ll be a feature of this relationship for a long time.”
With Post wires
