"...none of this was long-game and the goal was a burst of short-term chaos."
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These aren't necessarily mutually exclusive goals. People get to Trump's office by being able to take advantage of the former with the latter, without disrupting the former. $Trump is a good example of this. He's groveling to his masters just fine, but also grabs a phat stack on the way to his knees.
I mean I can just tell by the action and this brand of insider trading that the goal here isn't to create an 18th-month full blown recession. This is very much a lazy strategy with easy-win vibes. China has done very well at setting up for a long-term battle and it would be quite silly to willingly accept those terms. A quick pivot to short-term strategy and a change of the landscape can undo them and force them to pivot over and over again in response. USA is setting the tempo China is just responding. The only thing USA has to worry about is China somehow gaining tempo in this battle forcing us to respond to their moves. Thus far that doesn't seem to be an issue. China is clearly on the defensive, and it's a very good defense and not worth probing further in the same way we've been doing it.