At a Beijing summit, Xi Jinping invoked the Thucydides Trap, asserting China’s established global power, not merely as a challenger. He framed China as a calm global leader, contrasting a reactive, tariff-focused US. The article highlights China’s economic resilience, rare earth control, and energy diversification, granting leverage over Washington. Xi emphasized Taiwan's critical importance, warning against mishandling. The author suggests US structural superiority is obsolete, implying conflict avoidance requires Washington to accept China's peer status and work collaboratively, hinting at US misperception.