Alpha Leader is quite correct; the current "Air China" grew out of the former CAAC, which effectively ran all air services as well as acting as the aviation regulator. The 767 involved in this morning's crash was delivered to CAAC in October 1985 (L/N 127) and then transferred to Air China when it became the entity it is today, in July 1988.
It's correct to say that Air China has had a very good (safety) reputation since then and this is its first loss, but that's a first in a 14 year history. Not for nothing was CAAC referred to as "Crash All Around China" or "Cancel At Any Cost".
The aircraft, incidentally, was B2552, a -2J6ER.