KLM announced in Beijing on Monday that it will operate twice as many flights from Shanghai and Beijing to Amsterdam as it did in the summer of 2003.

By increasing flights from three to seven each week, KLM becomes one of the top three European airlines in China. Chinese passengers can transfer to over 100 other European cities via Amsterdam.

The increase of flights will provide more convenience for passenger and cargo exchanges of two nations, said Wu Zhouhong, an official with the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China.

Aviation shortened the distance between the two nations and will further promote bilateral cooperation in economics, trade, investment, tourism and education, according to the Royal Netherlands Embassy in China.

The embassy has simplified the visa application procedure, said Karel van Oosterom, minister plenipotentiary of the Royal Netherlands Embassy in China.

China's rapid economic growth and hosting of the 2008 Olympics will increase its demand for air transportation, said Boet Kreiken, senior vice president of KLM.

KLM now carried hundreds of thousands of Dutch tourists to China every year, and hopefully more and more Chinese tourists will be seen on board in the near future, said Boet Kreiken.

KLM also planned to open flights to Xiamen and Chengdu, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2004)