China Southern Airlines' flight will be China's only direct air link, albeit with a stopover, between the mainland and the African continent. Another domestic airline previously operated an African route but abandoned it.

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"This year has set many milestones for the deepening and maturity of the Sino-African relationship," said Liu Shaoyong, China Southern general manager. "China Southern's decision to launch the air route at this particular moment takes advantage of the historic opportunity in both political and economic terms."

China Southern's flight, coded CZ331, departs from Beijing on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, and arrives in Lagos after a short stop in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The return flight, coded CZ332, departs on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. It takes about 16 hours to fly one-way.

Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria, is the largest city in west Africa. With a population of 14 million, it is the industrial and commercial centre of the country, Liu said.

Furthermore, Nigeria has become China's second-largest trading partner in Africa, after South Africa. "The prospect for trade growth is huge," said Liu, who joined China Southern in 2004 after working as the deputy director of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), the government body that oversees the airline industry, and as general manager of China Eastern.

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