Air China will start a Beijing-Kuala Lumpur nonstop service from 25 October and will be operated with A330-300 aircraft.  In 2014, imports and exports between Malaysia and China exceeded RMB100 billion (US$15.75 billion) and Malaysia remained China’s largest trading partner among ASEAN countries.

The new service also dovetails with the Chinese government’s strategic ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative with Air China saying the new service, “will become a thoroughfare in the air that promotes the cooperation in the fields of economy, trading and investment between the two countries and adds impetus to the growth of the local economy.”

Air China will follow the launch of Beijing-Kuala Lumpur service with the introduction of Beijing-Mumbai, Beijing-Colombo and Beijing-Islamabad-Karachi routes. These new routes to be started will bring the number of destinations in the Asia Pacific region that the carrier serves up to 19.