Air China will begin running direct flights between Beijing and South Africa's Johannesburg on Oct. 29, the airline announced on Tuesday.
A Boeing 777-300ER will leave the Chinese capital for Johannesburg three times a week, on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, and return to Beijing on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
This, the first air route offered by Air China between the Chinese mainland and South Africa, and also the airline's first route to Africa, will shorten the previous travel time between Beijing and Johannesburg to about 14 hours.
China has become Africa's largest trading partner in recent years, with trade volume between the two growing significantly to around 222 billion U.S. dollars in 2014.
