Having just returned from Beijing, I have the feeling that those "Hello Sir, please wait a moment, Sir" kind of incidents have almost vanished from the streets. I haven't once been approached (but being in company of a woman most of the time might have helped), nor were I able to spot the typical kind of person usually waiting to pull off something like that.

However, as an european, one still seems to be prone to several kinds of rip-offs where they give out smaller quantities of goods (compared to what local-looking people receive) for the same amount of money. Additionally, using DCC on CC charges (without asking) seems to have increased. They even charged me in EUR at the airport, although I had clearly ticked the "CNY" box on the receipt. Well, for the 4 or 5 EUR that might save me, it doesn't really seem worth complaining to the CC company and soliciting a copy of the receipt as a proof.