Not only that, if it managed to lure a hypothetical direct flight to China free of APD, it would mightily p*** off the likes of BA, KLM and LH whereby Manchester- China passengers have to change in London, Amsterdam or Munich at the moment.
You're on shaky ground legally though I think. The APD holiday given to United's BFS-EWR is small fry, this would rightly see a legal challenge from everyone mentioned about MAN giving its' preferred carrier an unfair competitive advantage.
The playing field needs to be reasonably level, MAN is one of the big boys now.
Bit like the Scottish Government Route Development "Fund".