Chinese officials see little difference between the cyber threat posed by the NSA and that posed by the PLA, especially given that America’s cyber intrusions have also been aimed at foreign companies, trade negotiators, and international leaders – all of whom are directly or indirectly engaged in commercial activity. In the end, moral hair-splitting is less important than the blame game itself – a visible manifestation of the deepening bilateral distrust wrought by a destructive phase of Sino-American codependency.