Caixin at Davos - Interview: ‘Thucydides Trap’ Allison More Optimistic About U.S.-China Relations Under Trump

U.S. and Chinese presidents could become peacemakers on the world stage, says Harvard scholar, whose book examined the likelihood of conflict between the two countries

We are going to have our Chinese New Year leave, the next Caixin China Watch will be posted on 5th.

Graham Allison attends the World Economic Forum 2025 Annual Meeting on Jan. 21 in Davos, Switzerland. Photo: World Economic Forum

U.S.-China relations could be in for a period of uncertainty under Donald Trump’s presidency, but there are grounds for cautious optimism according to Graham Allison, an American political scientist who popularized the Thucydides Trap — a concept that posits a tendency toward conflict when a rising power threatens to displace an established, dominant power.

“I’m more optimistic than the consensus here,” Allison said in an exclusive interview with Caixin on Wednesday in Davos, Switzerland, where he is attending the 2025 World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting.