Sichuan Airlines Photo: IC

Direct flights from Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan Province to Los Angeles, the US, resumed on Friday, on the heels of a new round of flight in-creases between China and the US starting from November 9, which observers said will further boost bilateral personnel communication and business activi-ties. 

The Chengdu-Los Angeles direct flight 3U3837 is operated by Sichuan Airlines every Tuesday and Friday. The outbound flight will fly direct from Chengdu to Los Angeles for 14 hours, and the inbound flight from Los Angeles to Chengdu, with a stopover at Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province, will last 19 hours and 25 minutes. 

The resumption of the China-US direct flight will further boost bilateral peo-ple-to-people communication, and raise the number of Chengdu's regular in-ternational passenger flight routes to 65, said a representative from the Chengdu Municipal Port and Logistics Office during a promotional event held by Sichuan Airlines on Thursday, according to a report by People's Daily. 

China and the US recently announced a new round of direct flight increases starting from November 9, and the first direct flight operated by a Chinese air-line from Beijing to Washington has completed its round trip. 

According to the announcement, direct flights between China and the US are expected to rise to 70 a week during the winter/spring season, which began on November 9, from 48 in the previous season, with equivalent round-trips in-creasing to 35 from 24.

Market observers said that more direct flights will facilitate people-to-people exchanges and cross-border business activity, adding positivity to improved bilateral relations.

There have been more signs of improvement in China-US economic relations in recent days, in addition to the recovery in bilateral aviation cooperation. US carmaker Ford announced early this week the resumption of its electric car battery plant in Michigan, which was assisted by Chinese battery provider CATL in providing technology, some equipment and workers. 

Global Times