Currency appreciating could lead to FOREIGNERS investing more heavily there as they attempt to beat the currency from rising too much- further pushing up the currency value as well as interest rates rising. If currency is stronger, then imports increase and that applies both to individuals (buying from o/s) as well as businesses which source inputs from o/s- interest rates may rise to prevent the economy from overheating. Whilst that'll definitely dampen spending, it is likely to lead to more foreign investment and like you said, will result in a further appreciation of the currency- but I think before that happens, the rates will come down again.
Chinese people, or Asians in general I'd generalise to say tend to save rather than spend (worried that something unexpected may occur) and are very different to Westerners in that sense- whilst spending is good, their reluctance to spend also ensures they have a large pool of domestic funds available for borrowing (which'll help keep interest rates lower and prevent currency appreciation)... as for CAD/CAS, I think China enjoys it's independence and anything which moves them closer to becoming reliant on other countries or a CAD is something they'd prefer to avoid.
Of course we don't know what the Chinese officials are thinking.... but that's my train of thought on the issue. I believe that there is a large difference between the thinking of Westerners and Chinese- with Western economies like we've studied, a fall in price should lead to proportionate increases in consumption of a good, but in Asia, the prices are already low; but people choose not to buy because they are either saving their money- or quite simply, they can't afford to buy it even with lower prices (I'm guessing you used China as a case study in which case you'd know about their average wages, etc..)