Will this work?

We plan to take the following flights in August:
A -> B -> C
A: South Korea
B: Shanghai
C: USA

And then the following flights in September:
A -> B -> C
A: USA
B: Beijing
C: Thailand

My concern is the fact the destination country on the first set of flights (USA) will be the same as the originating country on the second set of flights (also USA). Will that disqualify us from getting visa-free transit for Beijing? (Also I'm not sure this matters, but all of these flights will be booked one-way as separate purchases).