What they're talking about is the multiregional human origins hypothesis, of which certain Chinese academics are pretty much the last remaining advocates. Basically, the argument is that homo erectus evolved into modern humans in multiple areas outside Africa. Chinese variants of this idea (popularized by Wu Xinzhi) argue that this went so far as to create identifiably unique "kinds" of humans in greater China that have continuity with modern populations. However, it's hard to recognize modern Chinese populations as independently evolved because their unique morphology has been diluted through hybridization with other "kinds" of humans.
I wouldn't expect a 20 year old to be exposed to the theoretical leanings of paleoanthropologists though, so it's not very surprising you missed it.
I wouldn't expect a 20 year old to be exposed to the theoretical leanings of paleoanthropologists though, so it's not very surprising you missed it.