Well it seems China's play was to get to basically what amounts to a reciprocal level of tariff that is a soft embargo and then say fuck it we are done and don't care what happens from here, if the US is serious they will get to a deal, if they aren't this is already too stupid for us to keep paying attention to.
They intentionally used the word stupid. They intentionally are going to ignore anything more from an irrational actor.
This is de-escalation, but they are refusing Xi to Trump direct negotiations, probably because Xi isn't a fucking economist and they want appropriate level to level talks to get to a deal.
This seems like strong positioning of willingness to work with the US, but specifically not with trump or the stupid games he is trying to play. It really puts the US in a dire situation, because it's obvious to anyone watching that his economic advisory team is not calling the shots, he is and he is just doing random crazy bullshit. It will in fact erode the confidence of the United States even further if it doesn't in earnest negotiate like a normal country with China who is openly stating that they are willing to come to the table. Its obvious they think this sucks and isn't worth continuing and they want it over, but they aren't gonna play the trump crazy game.