CEA deepens China–Italy aviation ties with new Milan–Shanghai route and cultural partnerships

How is China Eastern Airlines using its new Milan–Shanghai flight to deepen commercial and cultural ties with Italy?

On July 3, 2025, China Eastern Airlines (CEA) held a high-profile promotional event in Milan to celebrate its latest expansion into Italy’s aviation sector—a new direct Milan–Shanghai route that marks a pivotal move in the state-owned airline’s “Air Silk Road” strategy. The event, attended by CEA Chairman Wang Zhiqing, highlighted both aviation and cultural diplomacy, with deepened partnerships across Italy’s civil aviation and heritage sectors.

The event signals a broader pivot by the Chinese carrier to position itself as a central force in fostering transcontinental trade, tourism, and cultural synergy between China and Europe. While the Milan–Shanghai route strengthens logistical connectivity, the surrounding initiatives—ranging from airport exhibitions to youth exchange programs—demonstrate CEA’s effort to blend infrastructure with soft power.

The state-backed airline has been aggressively expanding in Europe since 2024, amid China’s broader push to elevate international connectivity post-pandemic. For Italy, this presents new tourism inflows, trade facilitation, and diplomatic warmth—especially as Europe recalibrates its air corridors beyond traditional partners.

What were the outcomes of China Eastern Airlines’ aviation talks with Italian airport leaders in July 2025?

During the Milan promotional event, CEA Chairman Wang Zhiqing held bilateral meetings with several senior Italian aviation executives, including Salvatore Burrafato, President of GEStione Aeroporto Palermo S.p.A., and Armando Brunini and Luigi Battuello from Società Esercizi Aeroportuali S.p.A., which operates Milan’s key airports. These sessions laid the groundwork for enhanced operational support for CEA’s existing and upcoming routes, as well as collaborative marketing efforts aimed at boosting passenger volumes.

Institutional investors and analysts view these engagements as signs of deeper bilateral integration in European aviation. Operational logistics, slot access, and airport promotion are key for sustainable route profitability, especially on long-haul routes. By engaging directly with top-tier airport leadership, CEA is pre-empting barriers and ensuring institutional buy-in for its Europe-facing growth plan.

Additionally, Mr. Wang extended an invitation to these Italian stakeholders to participate in the upcoming North Bund International Aviation Forum in Shanghai this October. The invitation is expected to formalize longer-term route coordination, code-sharing opportunities, and intermodal logistics planning.

How is China Eastern Airlines combining aviation strategy with cultural diplomacy through Italian partnerships?

In a noteworthy development beyond conventional airline route expansion, China Eastern Airlines is anchoring its strategy in cultural soft power. During his visit, Mr. Wang met with Massimo Bray, Coordinator of the China-Italy Cultural Cooperation Mechanism and General Manager of Italy’s Treccani Institute—an elite institution known for its cultural authority and encyclopedic output.

Both parties agreed to deepen cooperation across tourism, heritage logistics, and education. CEA and the Treccani Institute signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), opening doors to airport-based cultural exhibitions, in-flight Italian art showcases, and cross-border transportation of museum-grade artifacts.

The partnership also outlines plans to build thematic travel routes for tourists, facilitate youth mobility programs, and provide logistical support for transporting valuable artworks. From an institutional perspective, these initiatives are seen as a blend of aviation economics and national branding—a strategy that expands beyond load factors and route margins into long-term influence in Europe.

This strategy has resonated with European observers, who interpret CEA’s move as aligning with China’s Belt and Road-era soft diplomacy, where culture and connectivity are treated as inseparable vectors of influence.

What is the current scale of China Eastern Airlines’ direct connectivity between Italy and China in 2025?

The Milan–Shanghai route is part of a broader connectivity drive by CEA that dates back to its September 2024 expansion. As of mid-2025, China Eastern Airlines operates five direct routes between China and Italy. These include: Rome to Shanghai, Milan to Shanghai, Venice to Shanghai, Milan to Xi’an, Rome to Wenzhou.

The Venice–Shanghai and Milan–Xi’an routes were inaugurated on September 26, 2024, signaling CEA’s intent to diversify beyond Beijing and Shanghai by tapping into second-tier Chinese cities like Xi’an and Wenzhou. With these additions, the weekly two-way flights between China and Italy have surged to 46, enabling a dramatic increase in bilateral tourism, business travel, and cargo flow.

For Italian airports, these routes offer enhanced hub positioning, particularly Milan and Venice, which are seeking to compete with Frankfurt and Paris as gateways for Asian traffic. Analysts indicate that CEA’s growing European presence could elevate Milan’s Malpensa Airport into a transcontinental node for Chinese outbound tourism and European luxury imports.

How are institutional stakeholders responding to China Eastern Airlines’ transcontinental expansion strategy?

Institutional sentiment toward China Eastern Airlines’ European growth plan has been cautiously optimistic. Aviation market watchers note that while long-haul routes are notoriously margin-sensitive, CEA appears to be backing its flight frequency growth with soft infrastructure like co-marketing, culture-driven differentiation, and government-to-government alignment.

In particular, the pairing of cultural partnerships with logistics strategy has resonated with European policy circles. Institutional investors suggest that these moves reduce geopolitical friction and align aviation with long-term policy goals, including youth exchange, trade facilitation, and cultural diplomacy.

From a financial standpoint, CEA’s state backing enables route development in markets where private carriers might face startup losses. As a result, analysts anticipate the airline will seek to scale its Italy routes into cargo-focused corridors, especially for Chinese consumer exports and Italian luxury imports.

Looking ahead, participation in the North Bund International Aviation Forum by Italian aviation executives could cement broader institutional agreements, including maintenance partnerships, joint training programs, and cargo alliances.

What future expansions or bilateral aviation developments can be expected following this July 2025 milestone?

Analysts expect further deepening of the China–Italy aviation corridor throughout 2025 and into 2026. Potential new routes from southern Italian cities like Naples or Palermo to Chinese tier-1 or tier-2 cities remain on the radar, particularly as Italy’s tourism sector aims to diversify beyond the Schengen zone.

Moreover, follow-up agreements at the upcoming October 2025 aviation forum in Shanghai could produce deeper logistics integration or multi-airline coordination, including European airline code shares. Institutional observers also suggest that CEA may propose the establishment of a bilateral aviation corridor framework under the broader Belt and Road infrastructure umbrella.

Culturally, the expansion of museum-level art transfers and youth cultural exchanges is expected to build public goodwill, particularly in European cultural sectors where skepticism toward state-backed expansion can be high.

Ultimately, CEA’s Milan–Shanghai route represents more than a commercial link—it is a diplomatic lever. As such, future expansions are likely to reflect both passenger demand and political momentum in equal measure.