Chinese President Xi Jinping recently held a meeting with a group of American senators, during which he expressed his belief that the “Thucydides Trap,” a concept suggesting that an emerging power could threaten the dominance of an existing superpower, is not an inevitable scenario.
Xi Jinping sought to ease Washington’s concerns regarding China’s intentions to challenge the United States’ superpower status. He emphasized that competition and confrontation are not in line with the current global trends and that resolving global challenges requires cooperation rather than conflict.
“China maintains that the common interests of the two countries far outweigh their differences, and the respective success of China and the US is an opportunity, rather than a challenge, to each other,” Xi Jinping stated during the meeting.
Moreover, Xi Jinping stressed that the vastness of our planet can accommodate the development and prosperity of both China and the United States, hinting at the prevailing perspective in the American establishment that China aims to challenge the US as the sole superpower.
While discussions covered various topics, the primary focus was on the escalating conflict in the Middle East following a recent attack by Hamas militants on Israel. Senator Chuck Schumer, the leader of the US Senate delegation, expressed disappointment that China had not condemned the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians.
China, however, called for restraint and an end to hostilities between Israel and Palestine, without explicitly naming Hamas. Additionally, China announced an investigation into reports that one of its nationals may have been taken hostage by Hamas militants during a music event.
The meeting between Xi Jinping and the group of American senators comes amid calls for China to resolve trade and economic disputes between the two largest global economies. A potential meeting between Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden is expected in the coming month during a regional summit in San Francisco, aimed at addressing the complexities of their relationship.
President Biden had earlier mentioned the possibility of a meeting with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, scheduled to take place in San Francisco.
This development holds significant implications for global geopolitics and the evolving dynamics between China and the United States.
