Xi tells Trump to avoid Thucydides Trap amid US China tensions, Taiwan focus

Chinese President Xi Jinping invoked the concept known as the Thucydides Trap as he began talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing, urging both sides to avoid a cycle in which a rising power and an established hegemon spiral toward confrontation. In his opening remarks, Xi told Trump that the world had reached a crossroads and asked whether China and the United States could overcome the so-called Thucydides Trap and create a new paradigm for major-country relations.

The warning comes as tensions between the two countries have sharpened across multiple arenas, including trade and technology restrictions and competition over influence in the Indo-Pacific. But Xi’s remarks also placed special emphasis on Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory and which the United States supports as a self-governing democracy through security cooperation. In remarks described as central to Beijing’s message, Chinese statements said that if Taiwan issues are handled properly, bilateral relations would enjoy overall stability, but that mishandling could lead to clashes and even conflict, endangering the broader relationship.

The Thucydides Trap refers to a pattern often linked to...