Yes, these rules were adopted by the IATA at that time. They are almost completely unenforced in the U.S. If you had a 5-pound lithium wheelchair battery in your luggage, it would probably get bounced, but otherwise no one asks. In China, as someone points out, every bag is Xray-ed within seconds of being checked, and you are sent to detention (i.e. a room to open your bag) if they find something they don't like.

In the case I describe, my equipment was seized at security, not bag check, so it's a different issue.

Further, small lithium-ion and LiPo "auxiliary" USB charging devices are apparently considered "equipment" by the FAA and TSA, where they are considered "spare batteries" by the Chinese, whether or not they can be bothered to read and understand the specifications of the devices and/or batteries.

The post is intended to highlight the differences between the treatment of these items in domestic US travel, international travel, and domestic Chinese travel.

I would have previously agreed. I will go out on a limb and suggest that your "give-a-damn" factor would go up if Chinese authorities confiscated a multi-hundred-dollar piece of equipment from you. It takes a lot of shampoo and hairspray to match that cost.