Can’t tell if this is an effort by the PRC to push even more invasive spyware on citizens.
China is playing the exact same card that USA does. Microsoft (willingly or not) have been playing ball with the 3-letter-agencies (3LA) to keep vulnerabilities secret and to the 3LA's advantage. If USA is going to 'cry wolf' on Huawei, then it is fair game that RPC will 'cry wolf' on Microsoft (and/or Cisco, and/or Oracle, and/or pick-your-own-company).
This is not China playing the same card. This is China playing aggressively, as they have been.
It's a smart strategy, don't get me wrong, but let's not claim the US as the initiators of these market-distorting actions.
Oh, states will take sides out of interest: interest to make money, to get protection, to not become enemy via the “with me or against me ideology”. But not for any moral reason.
What do you think the invasion of Iraq was all about?
And china isn't 1st here in issuing a ban, they are retaliating here.