China and US should be partners, not rivals — Xi Jinping tells Trump

Mr Jinping also warned the US against the “Thucydides Trap”— a reference to the ancient rivalry between Athens and Sparta.

Chinese President Xi Jinping says the US and China should be partners rather than rivals and find the right way to get along well in the changing global era.

The Chinese leader made the remarks on Thursday during his talks with visiting US President Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that this is the first trip to China by a US leader since Mr Trump’s previous visit, during his first term in 2017. The core aim of this visit centres on the current tense trade relationship between the two powers.

Shortly after Mr Trump’s return to office, the two countries became embroiled in a trade war marked by sweeping tariffs, retaliatory measures, and growing geopolitical tension.

This newspaper also reports that the conflict deepened in February 2025 when the Trump administration imposed a 10 per cent tariff on Chinese imports.

A month later, Washington doubled the tariff rate to 20 per cent, accusing Beijing of failing to curb exports of precursor chemicals. China retaliated with tariffs on American energy products, agricultural goods, and industrial materials, while also tightening export controls on rare-earth minerals critical to global manufacturing.

The tension heightened in the months that followed, culminating in the US imposing a 145 per cent tariff on Chinese goods, while Chinese tariffs on American goods climbed to 125 per cent.

Both countries later softpedalled on the tariffs while the relationship remained tense.

Mr Jinping, in his address to Mr Trump and the accompanying delegation, stressed that the two countries have more common interests than differences.

According to him, success in one country is an opportunity for the other, and a stable bilateral relationship is good for the world.

“China and the United States both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. We should be partners, not rivals. We should help each other succeed and prosper together,” he said.

Jinping warns Trump

Mr Jinping also warned against the “Thucydides Trap”— a reference to the ancient rivalry between Athens and Sparta.

The Thucydides Trap is a concept that suggests that an established world power tends to be threatened by a rising one, leading to a clash.

He urged the US to avoid the mindset that led the ancient Greek city-states to war.

“Can China and the United States overcome the Thucydides Trap and create a new paradigm of major-country relations?” He stated.

“Can we meet global challenges together and provide greater stability for the world? Can we build a bright future together for our bilateral relations in the interests of the well-being of the two peoples and the future of humanity?”

“These are the questions vital to history, to the world and to the people. They are the questions of our times that the leaders of major countries need to answer together.”

The Chinese leader also pointed out to Mr Trump that the US sided too heavily with Taiwan.

According to Xinhua, China’s official news agency, Mr Jinping warned that this could trigger conflict between the two great powers.

He said if “handled well, the two countries can maintain stability. If handled poorly, the two countries will collide or even clash, putting the entire US-China relationship in an extremely dangerous situation.”

Meanwhile, Mr Trump, in his address, bragged about his long-standing relationship with Mr Jinping and the ease with which he convinced top business executives to join the visit.

“There are those who say this is maybe the biggest summit ever. They can never remember anything like it,” he said.

Mr Trump also introduced the business leaders accompanying him to the Chinese president, who also declared that China’s door to American businesses would open up further.

The US business delegation includes Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, and Cargill’s Brian Sikes.

Others are: Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, GE Aerospace’s Larry Culp, Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon, Micron’s Sanjay Mehrotra, and Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon.

The Business executives also expressed hope of deepening their operations in China and strengthening cooperation with the country.