Xi greets Trump with ominous warning about risk of war between US and China: 'Beware the Thucydides Trap'
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Source: Daily Mail
Xi Jinping has greeted Donald Trump with an ominous warning about the risk of war between the US and China, as the two leaders sat down for crunch talks in Beijing.
Trump had been dazzled moments earlier by the full red-carpet treatment laid on by his Chinese host, lavished with imperial pomp rarely afforded a US leader as he was met by goose-stepping troops, thundering cannons and flag-waving children.
But as the pair took their seats opposite each other in the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square, Xi opened with a loaded reference to the so-called 'Thucydides Trap.'
The phrase, coined by political scientist Graham Allison, refers to the ancient Greek historian Thucydides' account of Athens and Sparta, and describes the danger of conflict when an established power feels threatened by a rising civilization.
'The world has come to a new crossroads. Can China and the US overcome the Thucydides Trap and create a new paradigm?' Xi asked Trump across the table.
During their two-hour summit, Xi warned Trump that if Taiwan is 'mishandled', the US and China 'will clash, or even come into conflict, pushing the entire relationship into a very dangerous situation,' state media channel CCTV reported.
Trump, seemingly unfazed by Xi's classical reference, was effusive in return and praised the pageantry of his welcome, calling it 'an honor like few have ever seen before', and singling out the 'happy and beautiful' children for special praise.
He told Xi: 'It's an honor to be with you, it's an honor to be your friend, and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.'
