“Thucydides trap” in Sino-US relations

After the global financial crisis in 2008, the concept of “Thucydides Trap” was applied to the analysis of Sino-US relations as the comprehensive national strength of the United States was relatively weakened and China’s overall strength was continuously improved. At present, Sino-US relations have dropped to the lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. Modern wars, such as trade wars, technological wars, network information wars and public opinion wars, have actually broken out between China and the United States. With the Taiwan issue and the situation on the Korean Peninsula heating up, the possibility of a hot war between China and the United States is also rising. In this context, it is of great practical significance to discuss the “Thucydides Trap” in Sino-US relations. It is concluded that China and the United States should pay attention to the potential war risks between major powers revealed by the “Thucydides Trap”, and strive to build a new type of major power relationship in which cooperation and competition coexist, and then break the historical curse of “the inevitable conflict between the rising power and the dominant power”.