China and Spain resumed their direct flight Sunday as an Air Europa plane left Madrid for Beijing.

The Airbus 340-200 with over 280 passengers on board took off at 5:00 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), heading for Beijing's Capital International Airport. The non-stop journey will take 11 hours.

Air Europa's Beijing-Madrid flight is currently the only direct flight between the two countries, and the company is scheduled to launch its direct Madrid-Shanghai flight Monday.

Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Jose Montilla said the new routes will promote Spain-China exchanges in tourism, economy and trade.

About 36,000 Spanish tourists visited China and about 20,000 Chinese tourists came to Spain last year, he said.

There will be two round-trip flights weekly between Madrid and Shanghai and between Madrid and Beijing respectively.

China's Eastern Airlines launched its direct Shanghai-Madrid flight in June 1992 but canceled it in November 2003 after years of losses.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2005)