More expensive chinese goods will not lead to more american manufacturing. Instead, it will lead to more Indian. Pakistani, Bangladeshi manufacturing. A more valuable yuan will be a short term fix -- if it is a fix -- which I don't believe it is.
If the yuan is released, the dollar will cease to be the world reserve currency in an economic blink of an eye. While it is fixed, there's no reason to switch from dollars to yuan, but as the yuan begins to climb, fewer and fewer banks or even individuals will want to hold the dollar and our savings will dwindle due to the massive inflationary effects.
The U.S. consumer of goods -- all goods -- not just "cheap chinese crap," buys most of their stuff from overseas. Many asian countries and south america are huge suppliers of electronics, textiles and food. 1.5 Billion people in china also need to eat and when they can pay 150% in the exporters' local currency relative to what american retailers can pay, why would they bother shipping those goods across an ocean? Why wouldn't south america send their ships to asia instead of Los Angeles?
The only solution to this problem is for America to stop needing the plastic fix. They need to start saving their money, investing their money, and producing goods the rest of the world wants to buy. There is no other solution in a global economy.
Protectionism won't work. Complaining won't work. Badgering China to deflate the yuan won't work.