[merely-unlikely]

> If we stopped buying shit we don't need, they could easily turn off a good portion of their coal powered electricity plants if they wanted.

If they wanted. China has a policy of overproduction, especially in raw materials like steel. While the US subsidizes consumption, China subsidizes production. It is not clear they would elect to scale back (and take the economic hit) even if Western consumers decided to voluntarily cut back (which also seems unlikely).