India, May 14 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping invoked the controversial "Thucydides Trap" theory during his crucial meeting with US President Donald Trump in Beijing on Thursday, using the concept to warn against growing rivalry between the world's two biggest powers and urging both countries to choose cooperation over confrontation.

Xi's remarks came during Trump's first visit to China in nearly a decade and at a time when tensions between Washington and Beijing remain high over trade disputes, Taiwan, technology restrictions, military competition and geopolitical influence.

The reference immediately drew global attention because the "Thucydides Trap" has become one of the most widely discussed theories explaining the rising strategic ...