China Southern Airlines and Iberia Airlines signed a codeshare agreement in Madrid on Wednesday to deepen the trunk route cooperation between China and Spain, as well as the broader market.

By leveraging China Southern's hub in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and Iberia's Madrid hub, the partnership will expand flight options, increase destination reach, and improve transfer services, said China Southern in a statement on Thursday.

This cooperation centers on China Southern's newly launched Guangzhou-Madrid intercontinental route, which commenced service on Tuesday.

China Southern and Iberia will continue to strengthen hub connectivity to facilitate economic and cultural exchanges between the two countries and drive the sustained growth of air travel between China and Europe, as well as between China and Central and South America, the statement said.