It sets the stage for a false flag operation where the Chinese disable Russia's power infrastructure making it look like it was America.

False flag operations aren't new concept, taking out Ukraine's power plants for a few hours could also be false flag operation with Russia not even involved as a pretext to get more military funding. Or russian links to Trump a false flag operation by some third party to install their own president. I've seen russia used as a scary monster so often I always think "who does _actually_ benefit from this" whenever russia comes up in news headlines.

> taking out Ukraine's power plants for a few hours

That didn't actually happen.

This depends. If blackouts start happening, the situation could escalate to war pretty fast.

Plus, what if multiple state actors penetrate a system and each lay their own "implants"? Mutually assuredly destruction only works if you can attribute an attack. Unless you're planning on destroying non-guilty actors too. What if NK, China, and Russia all hack the same system and then eventually the system fails catastrophically as a result of malware and no one takes credit. How could the US respond? What if the perpetrator were an adversary that wasn't even known to have penetrated the system?

True. The perpetrator could be some kid, doing it for lulz.

Edit: As in "WarGames".

What do you mean by "these incidents are meant to keep each other awake"? Why would you want to keep a competitor awake?

Keep them wary, so they don't get overconfident and try something that both sides will wind up regretting.

More of a show of force. The same way militaries physically project power to let the other side know what's possible.

China and Russia just "agreed to upgrade their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWBEVwIdTxE