Drawing on historical examples of power transition over five centuries, Harvard professor Graham Allison's "Thucydides Trap" concept has featured prominently in public debates about U.S.-China co-opetition. Its influence has gone beyond the scholarly community. In the context of escalating tensions in the bilateral relationship during the Trump administration, whether the world's two largest economies can escape the fate of military conflict has become a popular lens through which to view the present and future of Sino-U.S. relations. 

The Center for China and Globalization (CCG) is hosting a virtual dialogue between Professor Graham Allison, founding dean of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and author of Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides Trap, and Li Chen, associate professor at Renmin University of China's School of International Studies. The session will be moderated by Wang Huiyao, president of CCG and dean of Institute of Development Studies at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. This virtual program is part of CCG's "China and the World" dialogue series which seeks to engage global thought leaders on topics concerning the current situation and dilemmas of contemporary international relations and China's role in it.