WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for making the United States "a nation in decline" after Chinese President Xi Jinping invoked the name of an ancient Greek general to discuss U.S.-Chinese relations.
Xi, speaking to Trump on May 14 during their high-stakes Beijing summit, warned of the "Thucydides Trap," a political theory that war is the likely result when an emerging world power threatens to displace an existing power.
"Can China and the U.S. cross the so-called 'Thucydides Trap' and forge a new paradigm of great power relations?" Xi said through a translator. "Can we work together to tackle global challenges and inject more stability into the world?"
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The phrase "Thucydides Trap," popularized by American political scientist Graham Allison, refers to an observation of the Ancient Greek historian and commander Thucydides. "It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable," Thucydides wrote in his late-5th century book, "History of the Peloponnesian War, that
Allison, in his 2007 book, "Destined For War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap?" wrote: "China and the United States are currently on a collision course for war — unless both parties take difficult and painful actions to avert it."
Xi said he believes a stable United States-China relationship is beneficial to the world, adding that the two nations should act as "partners rather than rivals."
But later in the meeting, Xi warned that disagreements over Taiwan ‒ which China claims is part of their territory ‒ could damage U.S.-Chinese relations. "If handled poorly, the two countries could collide or even enter into conflict, pushing the entire China-U.S. relationship into an extremely dangerous place," Xi told Trump, according to Chinese state media Xinhua.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social following his meeting, said when Xi "very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation," the Chinese leader was referring to the "tremendous damage we suffered" during the Biden presidency.
"And on that score, he was 100% correct," Trump said, singling out immigration and border control, taxes, transgender policies, trade deals and crime under Biden.
"President Xi was not referring to the incredible rise that the United States has displayed to the world during the 16 spectacular months of the Trump Administration," Trump added, touting the performance of the stock market even though gas prices are on the rise, his administration's military operations in Venezuela and Iran, and his efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
"Two years ago, we were, in fact, a Nation in decline. On that, I fully agree with President Xi! But now, the United States is the hottest Nation anywhere in the world, and hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before!" the president said.
Trump left Beijing on May 15 to return back to Washington, concluding a two-day visit in China that was a U.S. president's first trip to China since Trump's 2017 visit. On his way back to the White House, Trump touted "fantastic trade deals" between the two countries, agreements from China to purchase Boeing planes and working with China on potential "guardrails" for artificial intelligence.
"We had an amazing time," Trump said. "It was a very historic couple of days, I think."
Contributing: Reuters
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Xi warns Trump about the 'Thucydides Trap.' Here's what it means
