WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday that the revised North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada would pour “cash and jobs” into the United States. But the deal’s importance may have less to do with the details than the signal it sends that Mr. Trump is methodically settling his multifront trade war to fight a single enemy: China.

A jubilant Mr. Trump celebrated the new Nafta agreement as the fulfillment of a bedrock campaign promise. He claimed it was a vindication of his aggressive use of tariffs and vowed to keep imposing them to extract deals from other trading partners, like the European Union and Japan.

But while Mr. Trump expressed confidence about eventually reaching deals with Europe and Japan, he was far more grudging about China, saying it was too soon to begin talking. Administration officials say privately that Mr. Trump is content to leave tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods in place for the foreseeable future to weaken its hand.

“China wants to talk very badly,” Mr. Trump said at a news conference in the White House Rose Garden. “I said frankly it’s too early to talk, because they’re not ready.” He added, “If politically, people force it too quickly, you’re not going to make the right deal.”