Xi says US is declining. Trump turns it into public post, redirects it to Biden

Trump framed Xi's "declining America" remark as a criticism of the Biden era, while portraying his own presidency as a period of economic revival, military strength and renewed US global dominance during the ongoing Beijing summit.

In Short

• Trump claims US had 'incredible rise' during his presidency
• He cites stock market, jobs, military as signs of recovery
• Trump says Xi congratulated him on several achievements

US President Donald Trump on Friday downplayed a remark about the US being in decline, a comment he attributed to Xi Jinping, saying the Chinese President was referring to the period under his predecessor, Joe Biden.

“When President Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation, he was referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden and the Biden administration, and on that score, he was 100% correct,” Trump wrote on Truth Social ahead of the second day of his summit with Xi in Beijing.

It was not clear whether Trump was referring to something Xi said behind closed doors or during any public interaction in Beijing. On Day 1, Xi, while not using the phrase “declining nation,” did caution against falling into the “Thucydides Trap” -- a concept in international relations drawn from the rise of Athens as it challenged the dominance of Sparta.

During his opening remarks in Beijing, Xi, according to a live translation, said, “The world has come to a new crossroads. Can China and the US overcome the ‘Thucydides Trap’ and create a new paradigm of major-country relations?”

The theory, coined by Harvard professor Graham Allison, suggests that an established power eventually clashes with a rising one after feeling threatened by its ascent. Allison named it after the ancient Greek historian Thucydides who wrote, "It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable."

Seated across the table from Trump, Xi also pointed to “great changes unseen in a century”, signalling the end of the post-World War II order primarily dominated by the United States.

Soon after Trump's lengthy post on Truth Social, the White House followed suit, flashing his response and repeating the same criticism of Biden.

Trump, however, insisted that America had undergone an “incredible rise” during what he called the “16 spectacular months” of his presidency. He cited record stock markets, a strong job market, fresh investment commitments, military strength and renewed global influence as signs of America’s resurgence.

The US President also claimed Xi had congratulated him on several of his administration’s achievements during their ongoing summit in Beijing.

“Two years ago, we were, in fact, a Nation in decline. On that, I fully agree with President Xi,” Trump wrote. “But now, the United States is the hottest Nation anywhere in the world.”

Trump ended the post by expressing hope that ties between Washington and Beijing would emerge “stronger and better than ever before” despite continued tensions between the two powers.

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