The battle for China’s airspace appears to have stalled, with the protagonists lambasting each other for their poor understanding of merger and acquisition protocol. Last weekend, Air China’s parent company approached China Eastern Airlines offering to buy up to 30 per cent of its smaller, less profitable rival in a bid that was 30 per cent richer than the one tabled earlier by Singapore Airlines.

China Eastern responded to the approach by publicly questioning its validity and sincerity and saying it did not regard the offer as a formal proposal.