I am a Trinidad and Tobago national trying to apply for a visa

I am a Trinidad and Tobago national.My family and I hope to travel to China at the end of March 2012. We tried to apply for visas but we were told that we had to have return tickets. My concern is that we will lose a lot of money if we buy tickets and are denied visas. On the website it says that only flight bookings are required(which we had.) Any clarification or suggestions will be deeply appreciated.