Russian Media: What Exactly Is the 'Thucydides Trap' China Discussed with Trump?

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According to CCTV reports, during the opening remarks of a meeting with Trump, Chinese leadership stated: "The world stands at a new crossroads. Can China and the U.S. transcend the 'Thucydides Trap' and pioneer a new model for relations between major powers? Can we work together to address global challenges and inject greater stability into the world? Can we focus on the well-being of our peoples and the future of humanity, jointly shaping a bright future for our bilateral relations? These are historic questions, global questions, and people's questions—also the shared challenge that leaders of great nations must answer together in this era."

What is the 'Thucydides Trap'?

The term 'Thucydides Trap' was coined by American political scientist Graham Allison in 2012 and has since been widely used among Chinese political scholars and researchers, especially within the context of Sino-U.S. relations. Allison drew inspiration from ancient historian Thucydides’ account in his work *History of the Peloponnesian War*, describing the thirty-year conflict between Sparta and Athens. In this text, Thucydides, an Athenian who personally participated in the war and later observed it as a detached witness, wrote: "The growth of Athenian power and the fear this inspired in Sparta made war inevitable." Graham Allison argues that just as the shift in power balance between Sparta and Athens led to their war, so too will China’s rise inevitably lead to conflict with the United States, because America perceives the emergence of a rising power as a threat to its own status and prosperity.

The influence of ancient Greek thought on European culture is no less profound than that of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods on Chinese culture. But why compare Athens and Sparta today? Why does China bring up this issue?

At the time, ancient Greece consisted of numerous competing city-states (polis). In the 5th century BCE, Athens and Sparta were the two most powerful entities in the Greek world. Sparta, with the strongest army in Greece and proud of its military tradition, contested hegemony with Athens, which relied on naval power and trade. After decades of conflict, Sparta ultimately won—but its foundation of power was severely weakened. Thirty years after its victory, Sparta lost regional dominance and, over the following three centuries, all Greek city-states were successively conquered by Macedonia and Rome. By invoking European strategic language to discuss the 'Thucydides Trap,' China urges the United States to find a way out of the spiral of confrontation, arguing that such a spiral harms both sides. China believes that conflicts over hegemony can be avoided and offers America an alternative relationship model free from zero-sum thinking—where one side’s gain does not mean the other’s loss. But will the United States accept this logic?

Source: sputniknews

Original: toutiao.com/article/1865179192397828/

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