(Yicai) June 7 -- China’s three largest airlines are deepening their cooperation with Middle Eastern carriers, as the number of routes between China and the Middle East expands.

China Eastern Airlines and Etihad Airways signed a deal during the International Air Transport Association’s recent annual general meeting in Dubai to open more routes between China and the United Arab Emirates. The agreement also links their frequent flyer programs from next year.

Shanghai-based China Eastern entered a non-binding agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Air too which sees then join hands on code sharing, frequent flyer programs, ground services, in-flight catering, aircraft maintenance, and digital operations.

Established in March last year, Riyadh Air will begin operations next year and open routes to China by 2026, with the priority destinations being Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu, Chief Executive Tony Douglas told Yicai.

Beijing-based Air China also signed a similar deal as China Eastern with Riyadh Air and upgraded its code-sharing arrangement with Turkish Airlines.

China Southern Airlines signed an non-binding agreement with Qatar Airways, one of its major shareholders, to deepen their partnership. Qatar Airways purchased a 5 percent stake in the Guangzhou-based carrier in the open market in 2018.

Chinese airlines have opened several air routes to the Middle East since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. China Southern introduced a direct flight to Qatar from Guangzhou in April, and China Eastern and Air China opened routes to Istanbul in the second half of last year. All three added non-stop flights to Riyadh a month ago.

The number of flights from China to the Middle East is up 15 percent from before the pandemic, a faster pace of the recovery than for flights between China and Western countries, according to data from flight information provider Flight Manager. China-United States flights are back to about only 20 percent of the pre-Covid level.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione