In 2001 (pre 9/11, when it was legal) I was happily in a CX jump seat with 3 Aussie pilots coming in to land at HKG (new airport). We were following a China Eastern 767 on finals. Our captain idly commented that the 767 was lined up on the incorrect runway (right, should have been left. There was an aircraft moving onto this runway R, ready for takeoff roll), and decided to give the tower a few moments to correct the situation, otherwise he would. Sure enough, a few seconds later the tower asked the 767 to follow instructions and use runway L. It made a gentle realignment to the left, the passengers oblivious of the coughup. Our crew made a few disparaging comments about the jockeys flying for mainland airlines - often ex-Chinese airforce pilots......
I had to make a decision last week for a flight after Easter - home to Melbourne faster from Beijing on DragonAir to HKG, CX for rest, or slower with QF direct to SYD. I decided on the latter, but mainly to get all FF points on the flight. Cos despite the above observation, most Chinese airplanes do reach their destinations in one piece - low risk, really!