It’s a gradual ramp up, same as first term Trump. He needs to first take care of the small fries before taking on China. The idea being, I’m going to show China I’m serious and won’t be stopped. Everyone else has surrendered so you should too, before it gets worse. It’s a classic kill the chicken to scare the monkey tactic. Trump will make examples of Canada, Mexico, EU, etc. This will in his mind intimidate China to negotiate since if he’s willing to do this to US allies, imagine what he’ll do to enemies.
But Beijing is not likely to fall for it. Reason? China practically invented 杀鸡儆猴 as a saying. They know exactly what Trump is doing. Trump being able to scare his allies into submission implies little as they are vassals to begin with. Killing chickens do not give you leverage when negotiating with tigers.