They do have a long time horizon, and on that horizon is a point at which China no long substantially relies on exports to the U.S. and can reject U.S. demands

They do have a long time horizon, and on that horizon is a point at which China no long substantially relies on exports to the U.S. and can reject U.S. demands without fear of significant disruption to its domestic economy. Indeed, everything China has been doing has been designed, in part, to hasten that day. Total exports as a share of China's GDP have been dropping since the mid 2000s. They're now below 20%. Americans, and especially American pundits, however, seem to be living in the 1990s and early oughts, when exports peaked near 40% of GDP. China still has huge poverty problems, but what's changed is that both China and the world have grown up and fully industrialized. The entire world is China's market now, not just the richest, Western nations. The world is a much bigger, wealthier place today than 20 years ago, and the trend will only continue.