The American president published a post on social media a few hours before his next meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing. Trump used the Truth Social platform to present his own interpretation of the Chinese leader's words regarding the condition of the United States. At the same time, he criticized his predecessor.
Trump's interpretation of the “decline of the USA”
“When President Xi very kindly referred to the United States as perhaps a country in decline, he was referring to the enormous damage that has befallen us during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden and his administration. And on that he was 100 percent right,” Trump wrote.
The American president also added that Xi congratulated him on “so many great successes in such a short time.”
This concept refers to the “Peloponnesian War”, in which Thucydides described the mechanism leading to the conflict between Athens, which was growing in power, and Sparta, which was losing its dominance. Xi expressed his desire to avoid such a scenario in relations between the current powers. As the Wall Street Journal reminds, the Chinese president has also used the phrase “rising East and declining West” in the past.
Rubio's condition on China's development
The head of American diplomacy, Marco Rubio, commented on these words just before the summit. In an interview with Fox News, the Secretary of State emphasized that Washington has no intention of blocking the development of the Middle Kingdom, but he set a clear condition regarding the interests of his own country.
— This cannot be at the expense of our downfall. This is an area where our positions will differ, he said.
