China's Xi'an opens first direct flight to Milan

Northwest China's ancient city of Xi'an on Thursday opened its first direct flight to Milan, Italy to enhance personnel and economic exchanges between the two cities.

The new route offers round-trip flights on every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The outbound flight departs at 14:40 Beijing time and is expected to arrive at Malpensa Airport in Milan at 19:30 local time. The return flight departs at 21:30 local time and arrives at Xi 'an Xianyang International Airport at 14:00 Beijing time.

The flight is operated by the Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft, which is known for its spacious cabin, comfortable seats and excellent fuel efficiency. Meanwhile, passengers can connect to Wi-Fi network during the flight.

"The flight is able to connect to the Internet after taking off and stay connected throughout the flight. During the 11 hours on board, whether for work, entertainment, or sharing moments with family, it is very convenient, providing passengers with a highly comfortable travel experience," said Ren Xiang, senior deputy manager of the Market Development Division 2 of Sales and Marketing Department of China Eastern Airlines Northwest Branch.

China Eastern Airlines has launched 83 routes from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, including 12 international and 71 domestic destinations. The total number of flights has surpassed the 2019 level by 3.5 percent.

With the new route opened, China Eastern Airlines has established four routes between China and Italy, including Shanghai to Venice, Shanghai to Rome, and Wenzhou to Rome. The opening of the Xi'an-Milan route marks the second long-haul intercontinental direct route from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport this year, following the launch of the Xi'an-Budapest route.

"In the early stage, we fully laid out the route from Xi'an to Budapest in Eastern Europe, and now we have opened the route from Xi'an to Milan in Western Europe, which will fully enrich our route network in Europe. The airport in Xi'an will continue to spread from Xi 'an to the west, to Central and Western Asia, Central and Eastern Europe and Western Europe in the future, to enrich the travel of local people and serve the local economic development, and make more contributions," said Zhang Xuan, vice general manager of the marketing department of Xi'an Xianyang International Airport.

China's Xi'an opens first direct flight to Milan

A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman on Friday lashed out at Japan's latest sharp increase in defense budget and planned revision of defense equipment transfer principles to allow the export of lethal weapons, urging the country to make a clean break from militarism.

It was reported that the Japanese parliament has enacted a record-high budget for fiscal year 2026, featuring a defense expenditure of 9.04 trillion yen (about 58 billion U.S. dollars), exceeding 9 trillion yen for the first time. Reports also indicate that the Japanese government is planning a significant revision to the implementation guidelines of its "Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology," which will allow the export of lethal weapons.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, the spokesman, said in response, "Various signs have shown that the Japanese right-wing forces are stepping up efforts to push the country's security policy to shift toward a more offensive and expansionist direction. Their acts gravely violate the [1943] Cairo Declaration, the [1945] Potsdam Proclamation, the [1945] Japanese Instrument of Surrender, and other instruments with legal effect under international law, gravely go against Japan's own Constitution and existing domestic norms, and pose a serious threat to the post-war international order and regional peace and stability."

"Japanese militarism once inflicted untold suffering on the region and beyond, yet there has never been a proper reckoning with it after World War II," Zhang said.

Now, the Japanese side has completely torn off its disguise and accelerated its pace of re-militarization, which cannot but arouse strong concern and condemnation from the rest of the world, the spokesman said.

"We urge the Japanese side to stop its retrogressive moves and make a clean break from militarism. Otherwise, it will lose the trust of its Asian neighbors and the rest of the international community," he said.

China urges Japan to break away from militarism