In his opening remarks during talks with Trump, President Xi raised a series of broader questions about the future trajectory of China-US relations.
"Can China and the US overcome the Thucydides Trap and create a new paradigm of major-country relations? Can we meet global challenges together and provide greater stability for the world? Can we build a bright future for our bilateral relations in the interest of the wellbeing of the two peoples and the future of humanity?" Xi asked.
The Thucydides Trap Xi referenced refers to a theory that tensions between a rising power and the established dominant power could lead to violent conflict. The concept derives from the ancient Greek historian Thucydides (c460-400 BCE), who wrote in his History of the Peloponnesian War that "It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable."
The theory was later popularized by political scientist Graham Allison in his 2017 book Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap? and has since become a major reference point in debates over the future trajectory of China-US relations.
For Xi, the question ultimately requires a strategic choice from Washington. These were "questions vital to history, to the world and to the people," Xi said. Xi added that he was "ready to work together with President Trump to set the course and steer the giant ship of China-US relations," expressing hope that 2026 could become "a historic, landmark year that opens up a new chapter in China-US relations."
Xi said that the constructive China- US relationship of strategic stability "should be a positive stability with cooperation as the mainstay, a sound stability with moderate competition, a constant stability with manageable differences, and an enduring stability with promises of peace," according to China's Xinhu News Agency.
Shen Yi, a professor and executive director at the Center for National Security Studies at Shanghai's Fudan University, called this articulation "the most significant and consequential outcome" of the summit. The concept provides a new positioning for bilateral ties and is likely to serve as a strategic guide for China-US relations over the next three years and beyond," Shen said in a podcast released on May 16.
The concept of strategic stability was developed during the Cold War to prevent nuclear confrontation between the US and the former Soviet Union. President Xi's proposal, he argued, represents an evolution of this traditional idea, extending it beyond the narrow scope of military security into the broader framework of overall major-power relations.
For years, China has resisted Washington's efforts to frame the bilateral relationship as fundamentally competitive. Instead, Beijing has advanced concepts such as a "new type of major-country relations" and "win-win cooperation" to define ties with the US, which Washington has largely rejected, perceiving it as China's attempt to challenge US dominance in international order.
Against this backdrop, the new concept of "constructive strategic stability" appears more calibrated and pragmatic. It acknowledges enduring competition while attempting to prevent the two sides from sliding into direct confrontation.
"It emphasizes stability, but not as a means of freezing existing contradictions. It accepts that competition between China and the US is a long-term reality, but insists that such competition must remain bounded and controllable. It acknowledges differences, but stresses that they must not be allowed to escalate into systemic crisis," Shen said. "And while it speaks of peace, it does not define peace as mere non-conflict. Rather, it sees peace as something that must be actively constructed through sustained dialogue, cooperation and mutual adjustment," he added.
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