I'd go with the latter. The Chinese govt doesn't strike me as a govt that would go back on its word and would suddenly start embracing Bitcoin when they've been so against it over the past few years. This whole media thing with Bitcoin sounds like a new tactic from the chinese to try to disturb the US amidst the trade war, it's all mind games...*proceeds to take off tin foil hat*
But with the hong kong protests and all the shitshow that's going down in China right now, I wouldn't be surprised if this was nothing more than lame propaganda to distract the citizens and the world.
Even if it's propaganda though, it still gives their citizens the green light to trade and own. I mean, these news are still targeted towards them, not westerners. They're keeping a close eye on whatever OTC exchanges remain running, so I don't think they're very threatened by a prospect of capital flight anymore. Bitcoin is uncensorable for sure, but it's highly trackable, which I'm sure the CCP loves. I feel like we can take this at face value, meaning they're not actively against Bitcoin at the moment.