I get a similar impression that the article was a little odd - I think the author seems to be confusing the intent of the message coming from China's leadership

I get a similar impression that the article was a little odd - I think the author seems to be confusing the intent of the message coming from China's leadership. China is saying, here is a 'story' to help you understand what we're trying to do with the Belt & Road Initiative. In essence, the focus is not on the truth claims of history, but it is a guidepost of what they want to do in the future. The author on the other-hand seems to be saying, because the history is inaccurate, the corollary is that the Belt & Road initiative will not succeed (which is not a logically consistent argument).