The reciprocal moves reflect the horse trading that two world’s two largest economies have to engage in, as they each struggle to restore growth amid the worst slump created by the coronavirus pandemic.

Shanghai-based China Eastern will establish Sanya International Airlines with partners including a unit of Trip.com as it eyes growth in air traffic to Hainan, a southern island earmarked by President Xi as a future free-trade hub.

The aviation industry, which is expected to lose US$314 billion in revenue this year, is picking up, leading to big run-ups in airline stocks in the Asia-Pacific region this week.

Chinese authorities say American and other foreign carriers can fly into the country from next week, after US announced that passenger flights from China would be banned from June 16.

The tit-for-tat retaliation underscores the fight for market share in one of the most lucrative routes of what remains in global aviation, in an industry that needs an estimated US$200 billion in aid to pull through its worst slump in history.

China’s largest airlines have raised an unprecedented 90.5 billion yuan in super-short maturity debt for lifeline since the outbreak of coronavirus brought the aviation industry to a standstill.

The potent rebound in Chinese airport operators is captivating investors and analysts who are betting on a quick turnaround from the catastrophic shutdown of the aviation industry this year.

Transport department says US carriers are being denied the right to compete on equal basis with Chinese counterparts.

It highlights the biggest challenge to re-establishing international travel; there’s little agreement on what could limit the risk of spreading Covid-19 across borders.

Airlines have a long way to go to recover air traffic especially in international routes, while China’s recovery is seen accelerated by business trips and cargo flights.

China’s biggest airlines have become among the top picks at some of the nation’s largest brokerages as they trade below book values, a historical turning point in market valuation.

Stocks listed on mainland Chinese exchanges rose on the last trading day of April, with the Shanghai Composite Index gaining 4 per cent for the month in a welcome change from March’s declines.

China’s three largest airlines posted their biggest slide in earnings since the global financial crisis, in a foretaste of the industry slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

A total of 4,000 attraction sites will be open for tourists during the May break, a record number since the pandemic.

The recovery in air travel, underpinned by an easing coronavirus outbreak in mainland China, is welcomed news for an industry that has suffered US$5.6 billion in first-quarter losses as air passenger traffic shrank.

China’s aviation industry suffered losses worth 39.82 billion yuan (US$5.6 billion) in the first quarter, regulators said. Activity may linger at a low level despite early signs of recovery.

According to Altman, scores of 1.8 or below indicate a risk of bankruptcy and scores over 3 suggest sound footing.

From Sunday, Chinese airlines will be allowed to fly just one weekly route to one city per country, operating it at no more than 75 per cent capacity.

Average prices of tickets rose by about 150 per cent on March 15 because of insufficient supply caused by large scale and even complete suspensions by airlines globally.

Pandemic is likely to reshape the industry, with many airlines failing, others consolidating and entirely new groupings emerging, says IATA’s Alexandre de Juniac.

Chinese airlines posted their biggest ever revenue loss in February as passenger volumes plunged 84.5 per cent from a year earlier due to the coronavirus.

“We are positive on buying China airlines at this time … If you expect they will recover in May and wait to buy in May, then it is too late,” said Daiwa Capital Markets analyst Kelvin Lau.

This year was meant to be the “decisive year” for HNA, co-founder Chen Feng said in his new year message to employees. But his best-laid plans ran into China’s coronavirus outbreak, as dozens of cities enforced lockdowns that prevented citizens from travelling either domestically, or overseas.

China is considering direct cash infusions or mergers to stabilise the hobbled airline industry, while the People’s Bank of China said it will work on supporting domestic consumption.

Lured by generous compensation, many foreign pilots now considering their options amid unfolding coronavirus crisis.

Chinese tourism to southeast Asia has grown exponentially since the Sars outbreak in 2003, meaning the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak could hit tourism-related companies much harder in the coming months.

The carrier had relaunched the route in 2017 in its third attempt in 35 years to make it viable – even lowering the number of weekly flights to five from seven in 2018.

Just in time for the People’s Republic of China’s 70th birthday, the new airport in Beijing hopes to welcome more than 100 million passengers a year, rivalling US airports

Visually spectacular and with the latest technology, the Chinese capital’s second international airport is open for business.