I would agree with you. But this is just some of the mistakes listed on a news article, I did not expand past that. If I did, I would include some obvious ones, like Napoleon invading Russia, or Hannibal with his elephants.
I personally don't think China ever had the opportunity to become a dominant colonial power. They were so busy fighting civil wars, and they were an extremely weak country until the mid-20th century. They had been bossed around by the UK, France, Russia, Japan, and to a small extent, Portugal, Germany, and Austria-Hungary.