Tcarcio, I think what you said would apply to most receivers. Understand that specifications for electronics are partly a function of measured performance and partly a function of avoiding potential lawsuits.
Chinese made receivers are built more lightly than some discrete amplifiers. It isn't that discrete amplifiers have some sort of magic circuit design. It is that they often use heavier duty components that can withstand more current draw. The receivers are likely to go into thermal protection mode from too much current draw before the amplifiers will. In order to produce too much current draw you would need to use the receiver at volume levels that most people would consider uncomfortably loud. But the lawyers want to be able to say "we told you so" in a court room.
For the OP, the simple advice is to stay within the parameters laid out by the manufacturer and its lawyers. But you asked if it is critical to heed these parameters. The answer is that it is not critical for most people and most installations.
