Seeing the US orchestrating over 80 coups, funneling money into them, training death squads, sanctioning, weaponizing the IMF, deploying troops, dropping bombs, injecting propaganda, and more; and then going “But wait China messes with other countries too!” IS the whataboutism
There is a clear first place worst imperialist. Second is very, very distant. Devoting this degree of energy to anything but first place and then defending first place when it comes up is imperialism apologetics.