Xi Jinping: U.S. and China can overcome 'Thucydides Trap

Chinese President Xi Jinping told U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday that Washington and Beijing can compete without fighting. He stated that the "The Thucydides Trap can be overcome," directly addressing his own questions about avoiding destructive rivalry at a summit in May.

The term describes a historical pattern where tensions between a rising power and an established ruling power frequently lead to war. Ancient Athenian general Thucydides first recorded this dynamic during the Peloponnesian War. His accounts showed that Athens' rapid growth alarmed Sparta.

Harvard professor Graham Allison popularized the concept in the early 2010s. He has visited China multiple times, including in June 2026 for a World Economic Forum event. The academic previously served in the U.S. government during the 1980s and 1990s and helped lead Harvard's Kennedy School, which trained generations of Chinese officials.

Xi framed the current relationship as a test of diplomatic restraint. He argued that both militaries must improve crisis communication to keep competition from turning violent. "It should be a race of catching up with one another, not a wrestle in which one either wins or loses," he said.

Experts view the establishment of clear boundaries for this rivalry as a major diplomatic step. Setting this competitive floor injected certainty into a volatile relationship, according to Cui Shoujun, a professor at Renmin University of China's School of International Studies.

Trump focused his arrival remarks on broad collaboration. The U.S. president has not addressed the issue of Taiwan yet. This meeting marks Xi's first state visit to the U.S. in 11 years.