No, the best way to get out of this potential quagmire would be to make this ultimatum to Beijing: You are free to sell us your goods, however, they must be manufactured in the United States (or at the very least, a certain percentage of the manufacturing). The alternative would be a gradual tariff which would have a subtle, yet annual increase until a certain percentage has been reached.
Thank you. That just made my day. That has got to be the least thought-through proposal I have ever read on that topic. For starters, the only reason to produce stuff in China is because it's too expensive to manufacture mass produced items in countries like the USA, because peope in the western world actually expect to earn enough to afford living in the western world through their work. Forcing companies to produce stuff in the USA just doesn't work.
Now, the one thing that should be done with regards to China, is to stop treating them like a third world country. They have nuclear weapons, for crying out loud. Just because they claim to be a third world country whenever it suits their needs (pollution, human rights, copyright law) doesn't mean they are. (China runs a fine line in their propaganda, in the interior, they claim to be a superpower that is slighted by the others, kept down by the malicious intervention of foreigners; Externally, they claim to be a developing country, that can't be asked to implement things like proper emmission control, because they lack the technological base to make it work).
Guys, I don't understand why you're discussing an eventual war between the USA and China. They don't like each other, alright, but all those discussions about war tactics are a bit pointless since a war between the two countries will be fought in the future and surely not now. This means that most weapons, aircraft and ships would not be in active service at that point.
Mobius is right here. A military confrontation beyond the occasional posturing is severely unlikely.