Has the Thucydidean Trap Already Sprung on China and the US?

http://thediplomat.com/2014/07/has-the-thucydidean-trap-already-sprung-on-china-and-the-us/

Has the Thucydidean Trap Already Sprung on China and the US?

Recent pessimism suggests that China and the U.S. are already well on the road to great power confrontation.

By Shannon Tiezzi

July 10, 2014

Even as the U.S. and China put on happy faces for their annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue, recent articles in U.S. newspapers suggest that the relationship has taken a major (and perhaps irreversible) turn for the worse.

At the New York Times, Jane Perlez cites Chinese and American sources who agree that Xi Jinping is making decisions almost unilaterally, according to his vision for China’s future. And Xi’s “Chinese dream,” according to Perlez, means moving “to challenge American primacy in the Asia-Pacific region and establish a China-centric alternative.” Xi’s aggressive moves and U.S. pushback have soured cooperation on major issues to the extent that there’s little optimism for progress at this week’s S&ED.