Could a Chinese expeditionary corps secure Qingdao before Japan?

Could a Chinese expeditionary corps in France justify taking Qingdao instead of Japan?

The answer makes arrival at Qingdao before Japan the decisive condition; it does not establish that service in France alone would secure the claim.

The question imagines Yuan Shikai avoiding his imperial claim and sending an expeditionary corps to France. It asks whether that contribution could justify a Chinese claim to Shandong. The reply interprets the territorial issue as Qingdao and says Chinese forces would have to arrive first. Japan is described as loading troops and moving quickly once it saw the opportunity. No separate assessment is given of how service in France would change the later diplomatic settlement.