This is certainly a possibility, but I would assume someone with the resources to pull this off is smart enough to realize that it would quickly be discovered i

This is certainly a possibility, but I would assume someone with the resources to pull this off is smart enough to realize that it would quickly be discovered if the whole thing is bs, especially as the story involves some of the US's most valuable and powerful companies. Also, why the need to make up a false story to make China look bad? There are plenty real issues that make China look bad. Before I get accused of some anti-China bias, the same could be said of the US. If I wanted to make the US look bad I'd focus on any myriad of foreign policy or domestic concerns that show it's failings before I concocted a story that would soon be discovered to be a fabrication.