Then again, probably not . . .

I remember hearing about some differences between Chinese and American locomotives when J. David Conrad was there to oversee the building of the 3 (later 4, after 141 went in the drink) "American" Chinese engines. My memory may be faulty, but I think the biggest indigestion was over staybolt spacing - Chinese practice apparently is a safety factor of less than the American requirement of 4.
That same philosophy - a safety factor of 3 or 3.5, let's say, instead of 4.0 - would also come to play in boiler plate thickness, bracing, material spec, etc. I simply don't remember how it was addressed - stronger material could restore a safety factor of 4.0, but the resulting design might have still required a waiver from ASME, NBBPVI, and/or FRA.
Other things - metric vs. Imperial threads, measurements, etc. - caused headaches, but no real safety concerns.
There have also been reports that some parts imported for use here, like injectors, were a bit less reliable than the American originals.
JAC