Chinese leader Xi Jinping opened Wednesday’s high-stakes meeting with President Trump by ominously raising the prospect of a future war between the US and China.
Xi made reference to a geopolitical concept known as the Thucydides trap, which posits that there is a high probability of a violent clash when a rising power challenges the ruling hegemon.
“The whole world is watching our meeting,” Xi said inside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, with Trump seated across the table.
“Currently, transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe, and the international situation is fluid and turbulent,” he continued, according to one translation of his remarks. “The world has come to a new crossroads.
“Can China and the United States overcome the Thucydides trap and create a new paradigm of major country relations? Can we meet global challenges together and provide more stability for the world? Can we, in the interest of the well-being of our two peoples and the future of humanity, build a brighter future together for our bilateral relations?”
Xi described the issues facing the US and China as “questions vital to history” and to “the world and to the people.”
“They are the questions of our times that you and I need to answer as leaders of major countries.”
Trump, who spoke after Xi, didn’t specifically address his counterpart’s remarks but predicted: “The relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
