SYDNEY -- Australia's airline Qantas on Wednesday announced an expansion of its codeshare agreement with China Eastern Airlines, claiming it will give passengers greater access to China's major cities.

Qantas will codeshare on China Eastern's daily Melbourne- Shanghai services as well as its Sydney-Nanjing-Beijing services from May, the Australian carrier said.

Qantas will also begin codesharing on China Eastern's domestic Shanghai-Nanjing flights.

Passengers can choose 17 direct Qantas or China Eastern services between Australia and mainland China each week, with onward connections via Shanghai to 11 domestic destinations.

Qantas says it also has codeshare services on China Eastern flights between Singapore and Shanghai, with connections to Qantas flights operating from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

There are no changes to Qantas' existing daily Sydney-Shanghai service, the Australian airline said.

Qantas International, Manager China, Andrew Hogg said the additional codeshare services were part of the company's broader strategy to strengthen its presence in Asia.

"We said we would expand Qantas's Asian network through our airline partnerships and were now delivering on that promise," Hogg said.

"The new codeshare arrangements provide Qantas customers with a daily, non-stop connection from Melbourne to the global business hub of Shanghai, alongside Qantas' established Sydney-Shanghai flights."