BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping invoked the concept of the "Thucydides Trap" during U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing, citing the book of that title by Harvard professor Graham Allison. It was the first time Xi had discussed the work in person with an American president, though he had referenced it previously.

"There is no such thing as the so-called Thucydides trap in the world – but, should major countries time and again make the mistakes of strategic miscalculation, they might create such traps for themselves," Xi said during the meeting. He also urged a fact-based approach to relations between the two countries.

"We should strictly base our judgment on facts, lest we become victims to hearsay, paranoid or self-imposed bias," Xi said.

Allison's book argues that the concept applies to potential conflict between an incumbent power and a rising power, drawing an analogy to the ancient Greek rivalry between Sparta and Athens. In the book, Allison described Sparta, as the incumbent power, fearing Athens as a rising power, a dynamic that led to decades of warfare.

Xi has held power in China for more than 13 years. He had referenced Allison's book on prior occasions before raising it directly with Trump during the Beijing visit.