Emirates will start flying to the Chinese cities of Yinchuan and Zhengzhou from May 3, 2016.

“With the opening of these new strategic routes, Emirates looks forward to contributing to the enhancement of China’s trade links with the rest of the world, in particular with the UAE and Arab world,” said Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of the Emirates Group. “We believe the new international air links that we are launching will help create tourism and trade opportunities for Chinese business and leisure travellers that may not otherwise exist.”

The flight will be operated by a Boeing 777-200LR, which is capable of carrying 14 tonnes of cargo.

Products that are expected to be transported on the route include mobile phones from Zhengzhou and agricultural products such as cashmere and goji berries from Yinchuan, according to Emirates.

Details of the flight are as follows.

Emirates, which first began serving China with freighter flights to Shanghai in 2002, is looking to further expand its presence in the country.

“As China’s regions continue to open up to the global economy, Emirates remains keen to support this with the further expansion of air services in mainland China,” said bin Saeed Al Maktoum. “In particular we’re interested in exploring the opportunity of daily services to Hangzhou and Chongqing, with a second-daily service to Guangzhou.”

With a major Foxconn factory which manufactures Apple’s iPhones, Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport is now served by major air cargo carriers such as AirBridgeCargo, Cargolux, Cathay Pacific Cargo and UPS.