You make an excellent point that " people are not dumb, until...

You make an excellent point that " people are not dumb, until they think they are smart". Combine that with " it is well known that the President ignores his daily briefings". Trump is concerned almost completely with gaining his second term. And he has tweeted that he will be even tougher on the Chinese after 2020. He has no clue what he is dealing with, and that China will not budge especially after his bullying attitude. Their time frame is way beyond 2 presidential terms. Also agree that China is looking to dominate world markets with EVs. And EVs will largely replace IC engine vehicles within 15 years.
They already lead the world in PV power systems and large scale lithium batteries. The gap between the economy of the US and China will narrow significantly in our lifetimes. Xi controls the political situation there with an iron fist, and has no fear of being unelected as supreme leader. Trump needs to listen more to his specialist advisers. He could easily lose his coming election.