5th Dimensional Chess Or Populist Jack-Assery?

RD just posted (below) the first half of my topic. I’m adapting to ask a question instead of bloviating my opinions.

Incidental to President Trump’s executive order, China threatened to retaliate:

By proposing an unjustified investigation into steel imports in the guise of safeguarding national security, the U.S. seems to be resorting to unilateralism to solve bilateral and multilateral problems,” the China Daily said. The probe could result in efforts by the United States to curb imports that will affect the interests of a number of its major trade partners, including China, the editorial warned.

“If the U.S. does take protectionist measures, then other countries are likely to take justifiable retaliatory actions against U.S. companies that have an advantage … in fields such as finance and high-tech, leading to a tit-for-tat trade war that benefits no one,” it said.

Turns out the Japs are none-too-happy, either:

We are greatly concerned over Trump’s protectionism, although we hear he has softened his tone on some issues with a grasp of reality,” Japan Iron and Steel Federation chairman Kosei Shindo told a news conference on Monday.

In an “unrelated” move, China revoked the steel manufacturing licenses of 29 separate firms. So, my question for our dear readers is simple:

Was this a case of 5th dimensional Trumpian Chess mastery or a cynical attempt to pay lip service to his base, the MAGA crowd?

Added background: China has a 300 tonne annual surplus (glut) of steel that drives the prices into the toilet.