Xi Jinping said that China and the United States will be able to overcome the “Thucydides Trap”
Quick Look
Chinese President Xi Jinping said in Washington that China and the United States can overcome the “Thucydides Trap,” the concept of the risk of conflict between a rising and dominant power, emphasizing that cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms them.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The concept of the Thucydides Trap describes the risk of competition between rising and dominant powers escalating into open conflict, which historically has often led to war.
Brief retelling from RIA II
Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China and the United States will be able to overcome the “Thucydides Trap.”
The Thucydides Trap is a concept that describes the risk of competition between rising and dominant powers escalating into conflict.
Xi Jinping emphasized that cooperation between China and the United States benefits both sides, while confrontation harms them.
WASHINGTON, September 24 – RIA Novosti. China and the United States will be able to overcome the “Thucydides trap”; the two countries must coexist peacefully, Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is on a visit to the United States, said on Thursday.
The expression "Thucydides' Trap" describes the concept in political science that in a situation where a new rapidly rising power begins to threaten the position of the currently dominant power, the risk of competition between them increasing into conflict increases.
In May of this year, when US President Donald Trump was visiting Beijing, Xi Jinping began negotiations with the question: “Can China and the United States overcome the Thucydides Trap and create a new paradigm for relations between powers?”
"The Thucydides Trap can be overcome," Xi Jinping said at the White House on Thursday ahead of talks with Trump.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
China and the US will continue negotiations to reduce strategic tensions
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- What concrete steps do China and the US plan to take to overcome the trap?
- How will domestic politics in both countries affect the realization of peaceful coexistence?
- What external factors could undermine de-escalation efforts?
