Plausible deniability. Wouldn't surprise me if China is getting the blame for a LOT of US hacking.
I think it's totally plausible. See my other comment in this thread for my conspiracy theory :)
With the current political climate, that might be the intention. If you undermine international trade though marketing you don't have to fight a tariff war.
Seems like all US conflicts are now an excuse to race to the bottom with whoever our "enemy" is. We imported torture from the middle east and now state run news and corporations from China.