“The Chinese people” is a nom de plume for Beijing.
Similar to how Democrats talk bout their agenda being “what the American people want.”
So...”the Chinese people” will watch what happened, and if the U.S. does something notable, “the Chinese people” will amend the narrative as necessary to save face.
I think you’re pretty close to truth there.
I’m not sure how this will turn out, or if China will simply watch.
We’ll see.