> China broke all the rules TODAY. and is still breaking them.
Speaking about whataboutism...
Let's not forget the cases of state-level industrial espionage performed by the NSA against targets such as France (with Germany's help) as well as against Germany itself, which both occurred and came to light within the last 20 years. There's probably more but those are the ones I remember.
There's also no indication the NSA has stopped these activities. Unless the the former being revealed by Snowden finally changed anything.
Everyone is spying on everyone right now. And why shouldn't they? The internet age has made it much easier than it used to be.
You can't demand change and be outraged at other countries' behavior unless you first change your own. At least the Chinese refrain from virtue signaling at the same time.
So. In conclusion I don't think this is a case of "whataboutism", but rather a case of "Look who is complaining".
These events happened a couple of hundred years ago. before international laws, before trade organizations, before, well, civility.
China broke all the rules TODAY. and is still breaking them.