President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump commenced a critical series of meetings in Beijing on Thursday, with the primary objective of fostering stability in the US-China relationship during the two-day summit. The White House and Chinese state media confirmed the leaders concluded their initial discussions on Thursday morning. Mr Trump is scheduled to depart just after midday on Friday, following a final private meeting with Mr Xi. However, significant breakthroughs are not anticipated on contentious issues spanning Iran, trade, technology, and Taiwan.
Xi's Warning on Taiwan
In their closed-door meeting, Xi told Trump that if Taiwan is handled well, US-China relations “will enjoy overall stability.” If not, the two countries risk “clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy,” Xi said, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.
The Thucydides Trap
In his welcoming remarks, President Xi invoked an ancient Greek historian, expressing his hope that the US and China could avert conflict. He stated that history, the world, and its people were asking “whether the two countries can transcend the Thucydides Trap and forge a new model for relations between major powers.” This term, popular in foreign policy studies, refers to the concept that war often results when a rising power threatens to displace an established one. It originates from Thucydides’ account of the destructive Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, where he observed: “It was the rise of Athens, and the fear that rise engendered in Sparta, that made war inevitable.”
Summit Outlook
Despite the tense rhetoric, both sides expressed a desire for stability. Mr Trump praised “happy and beautiful” children during the summit, but concrete agreements remain elusive. The leaders are expected to continue discussions on Friday before Trump's departure.
