Originally Posted by sf4dfish

You are indeed correct! Here is a list of the countries from the China Consulate's website:

Travelers from the 51 countries may apply for the 72-hour transit visa exemption, which are: 1) 25 Schengen countries in Europe: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherland, Poland, Portugal, Slovak, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. 2) 12 other European countries: Russia, Great Britain, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania ,Ukraine, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Albania. 6 American countries: The United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile. 4) 2 Oceanian countries: Australia and New Zealand. 5) 6 Asian countries: Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. The above 51 countries are chosen on the basis of the figures of foreign travelers’ entry, stopover and accommodations in Beijing and Shanghai in recent years.

Originally Posted by WineCountryUA

This reference suggest 51 countries are eligible (not just any one as some have suggested)


Air China mentions this is not universal

So without more info it is hard to tell what was the right action here.