What I know is that China only banned ICOs, and has instituted cracked down on digital currency exchanges. But, despite the ban and crackdown, the usage of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies seems legal as cryptocurrency trading remains unabated in China.
In addition, a news report from Aljazeera says, "China is one of the main exchange markets of bitcoin, although the currency exists in a legal limbo and is prone to speculation. The country hosts some of the biggest "mining pools" in the world where clusters of supercomputers mint new bitcoins and maintain the system. Some of these supercomputers are installed in rural places close to power plants."