Joseph S. Nye Jr., a political scientist who is well known for his "soft power" theory, said the metaphors of "Thucydides Trap" and new "Cold War" are not appropriate terms to portray the Sino-US relationship, as the two countries are not in a life-or-death competition.

Nye, the former dean of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, said China and the United States do not pose existential threats to each other and are widely interdependent such as in economy and ecology so the Sino-US relationship cannot be defined as a new cold war. The coiner of "soft power" proposed that the two countries should be careful of the language they use to avoid the destructive results of exaggerated fear.