With the recent(-ish) cancellations of both PEK and PVG, I can only see HKG on the cards for the foreseeable future. It was cancelled at the start of Covid but I the believe civil unrest at the time may have also affected demand prior. When figures on demand for unserved routes from CPH was last published in January 2024, HKG was not too far of SEA and ICN, though those two obviously also have the benefit of being hubs of new partners. Alternatively, SGN and HAN are both high on the list and are hubs for new partner VN, which have some okay connections to China.

Would SAS be willing to codeshare on flights overflying Russia? I don't know how common it is among European airlines. Doesn't AY sell codeshare tickets on Juneyao to PVG? Would there be pushback if you could go onto flysas.com and buy an SK-marketed ticket that uses Russian airspace? Codeshare with China Eastern to PVG via AMS/CDG/FCO/etc. could maybe make sense. With CPH-PVG unserved atm, we could potentially see China Eastern pick it up as well.

As for the timeline, SAS are probably focusing less on China and more on potentially joining the AFKL/DL/VS joint-venture for the time being.