>After all, it was European authorities that banned Russian planes from flying over Europe, leading to the tit-for-tat ban. Why should Chinese carriers be punished for a geopolitical fallout not of their making?
I think this article boils down to the above statement.
Keep reading: airlines not affected by the Russian ban are also cutting flights to China.
The main air hub for East Asia used to be Tokyo. Now it's Beijing. Where next?
Singapore?
Beijing is huge but mostly driven by domestic traffic, nobody voluntarily does intl-intl transfers there.
Bangkok remains the biggest hub in SE Asia, with Singapore and KL hot on its heels.