The regulation will be interpreted by the provincial police and communicated to your school in regard to the school's Z visa invitation letter if the school bothers to ask them.

The Chinese embassy in your home country will once again interpret the regulation when they place the Z visa in your passport.

The regulation will again be interpreted when your school applies for your FEC.

Finally, when you sit in the provincial PSB office in China, the regulation will be once again interpreted.

Given that flying to China to be rejected for a residency permit is a nightmare and does happen, the answer to your question will vary depending on the province or autonomous region that you apply.

My recommendation is to only trust information provided by provincial university FAOs that have several foreign teachers. They have experience with the process AND they have no motivation to mislead you. Private schools that are hungry for foreign faces will take the risk of you being rejected after you fly to China.