National carrier Malaysia Airlines will launch more flights to China and India to enhance bilateral trade, a report said.

"In the immediate future, MAS (Malaysia Airlines) is looking to Shenyang and Chongqing," Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy was quoted as saying by the Star.

He was speaking before embarking on the carrier's inaugural flight on Tuesday to the historic city of Xian, its eighth destination in China, the daily said on Wednesday.

The flights to Shenyang and Chongqing are expected to take-off in October.

"I am sure this will further strengthen the position of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport as a regional travel hub and also contribute towards the government's vision for Malaysia to partner with and complement China, which is the new economic powerhouse," Chan said.

The increase in flights would also help to pull in more Chinese tourists, who numbered more than 550,000 last year, he added.

The airline would focus on increasing flights to both India and China in the next two to three years, Malaysia Airlines senior general manager of sales, marketing and distribution Rashid Khan said.

"This is especially true for India which allows MAS to operate from secondary airports. We will certainly be looking into providing this connectivity once we have obtained additional aircraft," he said.

The carrier currently operates 26 weekly flights to India that include routes to New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Kolkata.

In China, the airline operates 66 weekly flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Chengdu, Kunming and Xian.

(CRI.com March 18, 2005)