China’s government cannot win the battle against blockchain. I don’t see how can those supposedly intelligent people, be able to repress a technological revolution such as blockchain.
They are just trying to win time until the inevitable comes. Prohibiting things have never worked because it always creates a black market. They can ban whatever they like, but people will still use them even on an clandestine way
If they try hard enough then they will know for sure, because the energy being used is very much on-grid. So if this forces the remaining underground miners there to use solar then that's a win for the environment. Using subsidized coal energy to mine bitcoin at the expense of the health of the environment is a terrible idea.