India, May 21 -- By invoking the ancient Greek concept of the 'Thucydides Trap,' Chinese President Xi Jinping sought to frame the US-China rivalry not as a temporary dispute but as a structural contest embedded in the logic of history itself

The ancient Greek historian Thucydides observed that the Peloponnesian War became inevitable because of the rise of the power of ancient Athens and the fear it generated in Sparta, which was the dominant power at that time. The historical construct of the "Thucydides Trap" was popularised by Harvard professor Graham Allison, who warned that when a rising power threatens to displace an established superpower, structural friction frequently culminates in war.

Occurring against a backdrop of global eco...