China and for that matter Japan or Korea via the Gulf is a non starter for most people it takes too long, you may do it once or if you are on a budget but its going the wrong way for six hours. The Polar / Russia route is by far the best and so in my opinion the Gulf really doesn't compete to that part of the world. As a regular traveller to both Beijing and Shanghai loads can very thin on the BA and VS services to LHR even at just once a day. Hong Kong is different because its a regional hub. I really doubt that MAN can support a service to either Shanghai or Beijing. Maybe if tourist numbers from China increase with a relaxing of Visa requirements. Finally there is no open skies agreement and as yet London is not that well connected to Chinese cities.