I don't know, I think it's good to somewhat push people to confront their contradictions, and they won't if they think the claim cannot be trusted. If the claim is made by some lib source they trust though? At least they would have to confront the facts and couldn't dismiss them outright.

That is if they're discussing (or just reading) in good faith

I think it's important in public spaces especially, where the person you're discussing with is not the only one reading the messages & people of varying political stances are around. In that context, a NYT article that is pro-china (could happen in some instances I'm sure, lol) will be far more impactful than an official statement from the PRC