China Southern Airlines celebrated its new direct connection between the Italian capital and the Chinese city of Guangzhou.
The inaugural flight on the new route landed at Rome Fiumicino international airport on Thursday early morning.
The service now connects Rome to Guangzhou through Wuhan, the capital of Chinese central Hubei province, and will be operated three-times-weekly (Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays) by a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, the company said.
Officials attending the celebration ceremony on Thursday included Chinese Ambassador to Italy Li Ruiyu, director of marketing committee of China Southern Airlines Guo Jianye, and marketing director of Fiumicino Aeroporti di Roma (ADR) managing company Fausto Palombelli.
Representatives from Rome's regional government and from the local authorities in Guangzhou and Wuhan were also present.
"Our company has always highly valued the European market, and we are already operating seven flights between China and several European cities," Guo explained in his inaugural speech.
"We have always paid attention to the Italian market as well, since China and Italy share historic relationships... and bilateral ties have steadily risen in latest years in tourism, economy, and trade."
As for Rome Fiumicino airport, it has now become China Southern's first active destination in the south of Europe.
"The new flight towards two of the richest and most rapidly growing cities in China will create new opportunities for economic and cultural exchange," ADR said in a statement.
The opening of the new route would prove that "economic cooperation and bilateral ties between China and Italy have been relentlessly on the rise, in terms of size and importance," Chinese Ambassador Li Ruiyu pointed out during the ceremony.
During the ceremony, China Southern also signed cooperation agreements with both Italy's flag carrier Alitalia and Fiumicino managing ADR Company.
"The launch of the Guangzhou-Wuhan-Rome route is only a first step, and its success must be the basic premise for all future developments," Guo declared. "Our goal is to boost further our expansion in Europe, as well as our investments in Italy."
China Southern transported more than 100 million passengers in 2014, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
