China and Japan will launch regular charter flights for passengers between Shanghai's Hongqiao Airport and Tokyo's Haneda Airport beginning Sept. 29 which marks the 35th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral diplomatic ties.

 

Two Chinese air companies, namely China Eastern, Shanghai Airlines, and Japan's two largest airlines -- Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways (ANA), will start four daily flights between the two airports, sources with the General Administration of Civil Aviation said on Saturday.

 

The flights to boost mutual exchanges were agreed by the two governments during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Japan in April.

 

According to official data, 16 airlines from both countries are conducting 738 flights every week, linking 19 Chinese cities and 17 Japanese ones. These companies carried more than 7.5 million passengers in 2006.

 

To mark the 35th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between China and Japan, the two countries plan to hold cultural and sports exchange activities this year, including marathons in Beijing and Dalian, a coastal city in northeast China.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 1, 2007)