Yes, this would seem most likely propaganda and hype aimed toward the West. The Chinese are great dissemblers, on that much I agree with the author of the article; however, their most likely military strategy at this point is probably best summarized by the excellent Joel Skousen strategic analysis that Draken put me onto:
Analysis of Global Strategic Threats
China is most interested in Taiwan and would probaby attack there first, if it had cover provided by a Russian preeptive strike against America. But make no mistake, in the long run, China has every intention of turning against Russia. They are not "sister Communist nations" but mortal adversaries whose interests converge at the same point as their borders.