China will open the country's first direct air route to South America, from Beijing to Sao Paulo of Brazil, next month.

The route will be operated through code-sharing cooperation by Air China and Varig, Brazilian's national carrier. Air China will fly from Beijing to Frankfurt, while Varig will fly from Frankfurt to Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil.

The time of travel from Beijing to Sao Paulo will be 27 hours, including transferring. The route has been approved by Chinese and Brazilian governments and is still waiting for approval from German, said Cesar Yu, China's country manager of Varig.

He said China and Brazil are developing nations, with economic and trade cooperation much closer in recent years. Brazil also became the tourist destination nation for China. The new route will promote economic, cultural, tourist and sports exchanges between the two nations.

(Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2005)