Airlines announce more direct flights between China, US ahead of APEC summit

Air China, China's flag carrier, announced on Monday that it will resume flights between Beijing and Washington and increase the number of weekly flights between Beijing and Los Angeles, ahead of the meeting between the top leaders of the two countries and the 30th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting this week. Flights between Beijing Capital International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport in the US will resume on November 21, operating twice a week. The airline also plans to increase the number of flights between Beijing and Los Angeles to three a week from November 30. On the same day, Bloomberg reported that the Chinese government is considering unveiling a commitment for Boeing's 737 jetliner during the APEC summit, as a signal of a recent thaw between the two nations, said people familiar with the matter who aren't authorized to speak publicly. Terms of a potential agreement are still under discussion, they said. Mao Ning, a spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, told the press conference on Monday that related information can be confirmed with the Chinese authorities. Zhang Monan, a deputy director of the Institute of American and European studies at the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges in Beijing, told the Global Times on Monday that the recent disclosures of deals, exchanges and communications showed the great potential of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. "Such exchanges are good for both countries as the trade and economic relationships of the two countries are of a win-win nature," Zhang said.<br/>