The relationship between the U.S. and China has been marked by cooperation, competition and a deepening rivalry.
This reflects the complex dynamics between the world’s two largest economies and the asymmetries that still exist between the status-quo power, the U.S., and the rising power, China.
Harvard Scholar Graham Allison described the dynamics of the interaction between a rising power and a status-quo power in his book “Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap?” His intention was explicit, the U.S. and China can and should avoid the so-called Thucydides Trap, a situation in international relations where an up-and-coming power challenges a dominant power, leading to the potential for conflict.