Yes and no? In theory, the American government is "for the people, by the people", a feature not at all shared by the Chinese government. So actions taken by the American government should be the will of at least a majority of Americans.
(Of course, the reality is a bit different; the American government is run by people largely in the pockets of special-interest groups and lobbyists. But we'd like to think democracy works as well as we'd like...)
> Should other countries distinguish between the USA and the American government? That’s something I don’t see.
I think it's important when you are discussing some actions taken by a minority leadership - an unelected leadership at that. If Biden did something bad on behalf of the US, I would be tempted to say "Biden did X" rather than "America did X", especially if potentially speaking to an American.
I also think in terms of geopolitics, it's important to criticise the Chinese government rather than the Chinese people - especially with increasing nationalisation ongoing in China.
