It's a great business move. And a poor hockey one, that's going to open up more opportunities down the road to create great hockey moves.
I'm honestly surprised that with the growth of hockey in Asian countries (last I checked it was the fastest growing hockey market) that more teams aren't looking to get their foot in the door -- from a business and developmental standpoint it's a very smart play. I'd blow a 6th every time if it opened up those kind of doors.
It could even be a good move from a hockey standpoint. Obviously setting up giant academies, scouting the world and flying kids to Brooklyn doesn't make much sense for NHL teams but if they focused efforts on underdeveloped markets and started kids off with good habits, practice materials and provided good coaches/development... and then followed them, it could be worth it to "blow a 6th" because that 6th might actually become a player.
It's only more recently (relatively speaking) that Europe and Russia have been scouted better by most North American teams so going to China or somewhere else and nurturing talent - you could probably pick up the ones you think have a shot at the NHL in the lower rounds where you're likely going to miss either way.