China Eastern will enter into a joint venture with Virgin Atlantic, Air France and KLM.
The airline says the agreement will aim to provide more valuable and attractive joint commercial propositions for customers between Europe and China.
China Eastern plans to seek to codeshare for the first time on Virgin Atlantic services between London and Shanghai. This will open up a range of customer benefits, including the opportunity for customers to earn and redeem miles across both carriers on flights between China and United Kingdom, the airline said.
Tian Liuwen, EVP China Eastern Group commented: "China Eastern and Air France-KLM have maintained a long-term and stable strategic cooperation, which have provided a strong support for each other's services between China and Europe. With Virgin Atlantic's joining,the cooperation will develop to a higher level enabling us to deliver more quality products and services for customers between China and Europe."