Overall, this is a good thing, given the obvious downsides of the Rambo-esque, us-vs-everybody approach to trade Trump seemed to be embracing. Every country Trump hit with tariffs was another country with a reason to retaliate against American exports. And alienating allies could make it harder to organize an international response to some of China’s trade practices, such as its massive overproduction of steel.

Of course, a trade war with China alone is still going to upset plenty of executives and investors (see this week’s plummeting stock prices). But some of the concerns people commonly voice about ticking off the Chinese are a bit overwrought. For instance, the idea that China can kneecap the United States by selling off treasury, as one of its officials hinted at this week, is the myth that won’t die. And as the Wall Street Journal’s Greg IP wrote Friday, it’s obvious at this point that the People’s Republic and the U.S. have been quietly battling it out on trade for a while. The transparent efforts of China’s government and its corporations to leech trade secrets and tech from American companies that want to do business there has been a longstanding tension, and it was bound to come to a head at some point. Realistically, Trump is escalating a cold war into a hot one. But at least some officials in the administration seem like they’re hoping to avoid conflict. While downplaying the size of the tariffs, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told CNBC he thought they would lead the U.S. and China to work out a deal. “There may be some firing shots over the bow and things like that but I believe at the end of the day this will end up in a negotiated settlement.”