That would be tough to know precisely, but I suspect that is a language issue. I think these earlier versions had the language built into the code base whereas later versions have language packs that lay over a US English code base.
I would suggest you get someone with a new (XL2003/7) Chinese version to try it and see if it works.
It certainly worked here.
The only other thing to check is whether there are actually any autocorrect entries?
Regards
Nick Hodge
Microsoft MVP, Excel
Southampton, UK