At a White House summit on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jingping offered Donald Trump a set of terms aimed at preventing the world's two largest economies from stumbling into a military conflict - or what historians call the "Thucydides trap." Because nothing says "stable superpower relationship" like a 2,500-year-old Greek metaphor getting a reboot in the Oval Office.

Standing alongside Trump, Xi laid out his vision for a mutual understanding: "We should strengthen communication. China and the United States are different in national conditions, but through candid, in-depth and continued dialog, our two countries can understand each other better, seek common ground while shelving differences, and build up mutual trust." Trump, for his part, looked on - presumably practicing his active listening face.

"We should coexist in peace," Xi continued. "China and the United States, as two major countries, stand to gain from cooperation and will both lose in confrontation. Our two militaries should maintain regular dialog and improve mechanisms for crisis communication and prevention." With those conditions met, Xi said, "the Thucydides trap can be overcome" - referring to the phenomenon, named after the Greek historian, in which tensions rise when an emerging power challenges an established one. It's like a schoolyard fight, but with nuclear arsenals and tariffs.

Xi had already invoked the phrase during his meeting with Trump in Beijing in May, asking the US president how he planned to avoid it. This time, he came with a proposal: inviting 100,000 young Americans to visit China on student exchanges. Because nothing builds goodwill like a massive study-abroad program - assuming the students don't get stuck in customs.

The summit comes amid intense competition between the two powers over artificial intelligence and trade, with each side imposing tariffs on the other. So, you know, the usual.

Earlier, Trump welcomed Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, to the White House, noting that Xi was the first Chinese leader to make a second state visit to the US. The previous visit occurred in 2015, when Barack Obama was president. Trump declared that he had forged "a truly great friendship" with Xi. "President Xi and I have made tremendous strides on the issues facing our two countries," he said. "Our teams have been working to encourage a more balanced trading relationship, including the new market access for American farmers and ranchers." Because nothing says "friendship" like a trade deal.

Trump added that the visit would include discussions over security, technology and AI - which he called "super intelligence," a term he introduced in his speech to the United Nations general assembly on Tuesday. So if you were wondering what to call the thing that's already running your life, now you know: super intelligence. Catchy.