China Mentions 'Thucydides's Trap' Again, Claims Peaceful Coexistence is the Key to Avoiding It

Central News Agency, Taipei, June 1. Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng recently discussed US-China relations, stating that rational recognition of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation is the logic for understanding how major powers should interact, and is the key to overcoming the 'Thucydides's Trap.' The term 'Thucydides's Trap' has been brought up again by the Chinese side recently. During US President Trump's visit to China in mid-May and his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Xi stated that US-China relations should be vigilant against the potential emergence of a 'Thucydides's Trap.' According to the Chinese Embassy in the US, Xie Feng stated at an event that half a month ago, the US and Chinese heads of state met in Beijing, where Xi and Trump agreed to define the 'constructive strategic stable relationship between the US and China' as the new positioning for bilateral relations, providing strategic guidance for the next three years and beyond. Xie Feng said that they must follow the direction clearly defined by the two heads of state, working together toward goals of cooperation, managed competition, controllable differences, and expected peace, to promote a stable, healthy, and sustainable development of US-China relations, and to explore the right way for the two countries to get along in the new era. Xie Feng claimed that the US and China are like two sides on a playing field; they must compete according to rules and, more importantly, understand mutual respect. 'Competition is inevitable, but it should be positive competition where you chase each other, fair competition that follows rules, and benign competition for mutual improvement, with the goal of achieving a better self. This rational recognition of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation is not only the logic for understanding how major powers should interact, but also the key to overcoming the 'Thucydides's Trap.'' The 'Thucydides's Trap' originates from the ancient Greek historian Thucydides, who believed that the war between Athens and Sparta stemmed from the threat posed by a rising power to an existing power. Today, the 'Thucydides's Trap' refers to a situation where a rising power threatens an existing power, causing the existing power to feel fear, often leading both sides into an inevitable war.