BEIJING - He may have only very recently broken his public silence on perceived bullying by the United States, but Chinese President Xi Jinping did not just wake up to what some international relations experts say is the possibility, if not inevitability, of China and the US falling into a Thucydides Trap.

As early as 2009 when Mr Xi was vice-president, he slapped the US on the wrist – indirectly and behind closed doors – during a stopover in Mexico, America’s backyard.