Solid-state laser diodes are relatively efficient and quite small. But individually they top out at a few watts each. If you could solve the optical problems inherent in combining the energy from an array of diode lasers and focusing it for distance, it's not implausible that you could burn hair or crisp skin with it. What's left unsaid is that a laser like that could also blind people en masse. Perhaps that's what they mean by crowd control.

For most purposes, atmospheric blooming renders laser weapons essentially useless. Anyone who understands the laws of physics knows that this is horse exhaust.

It looks like a combat movie camera.

Some un-informed writing here. Correction for atmospheric distortion is only required for long range use (such as anti-aircraft). For short range anti-personnel, not required. Generator the size of a car? Again, that is for anti-aircraft use. Crisping a patch of skin, rather than burning through moving metal at multi-km ranges? Portable lithium-ion will work.

Absolutely this would be viable, these things have been built by hobbyists, such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzUoe-9bKa0
With a properly collimated beam using IR diodes, you could easily make a laser rifle capable of what the Chinese claim. Indeed, I'm surprised there aren't a heap of them on the market already, given the availability of high power solid state laser diodes.

Weren't there reports of US aircraft being "blinded" by lasers recently?
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/22/politics/pacific-ocean-us-military-jets-lasers-intl/index.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/03/politics/chinese-lasers-us-military-pilots-africa/index.html
Could these be related?

So when "shot"/Lased by this does it make the target say "ouch you burned me". lol

a disquieting development.

Gonna have to carry around my smoke bomb when I do some protesting just in case.
So the cops will have lasers and tasers? This police state thing is making me feel warm and fuzzy all over.

China is known for their blatant lies; like when they claimed to have a lion, but it was only a dog. Regardless whether the tech is possible - and it is - ya just can't believe anything those idiots claim.