Each Chinese consulate decides itself whether to require originals to apply for a visa or not. This can change at any time and is often different even for each individual Chinese consulate in the same country. You can give them a call and ask, though be prepared that what you will be told on the phone might not always be what you will be asked to do when applying. However, we have had thousands of students apply for visas at hundreds of different consulates in the world, so your student advisor will be able to let you know what they required from other LTL students who applied there in the past.