Trump is willing to to make aggressive pushes to maximize American interests. His end state is not tariffs - they are his negotiating stick. His end state is deals including w/ individual countries and w/ larger governing bodies like the EU.

What is unclear, which I called out, is how China reacts to this negotiating posture. They are a nation that takes pride in strength. However, they will also be disproportionately hurt by a large tariff. Trump also takes pride in strength. It remains very unclear who will back down first. What is certain is that the economies of the two countries are deeply intertwined.