Yeah I wondered about the filament thing too. Typical reporter lack of knowledge on any technical subject, which makes me doubt any "science" reporting in the general press.
Trust me, the Chinese will find a way to steal the technology. My employer recently cancelled a multi-billion $$$ investment in China, and is now involved in criminal prosecution of a Chinese national ( in the US) for attempted theft of trade secrets (in collaboration with a corporate retiree.) The project cancellation was due to concern that it would be impossible to protect trade secret technology or protect US patents while operating in China.
The Chinese have no ethics, to put it bluntly.