BEIJING, Aug. 6 -- China Southern Airlines, the country's largest air carrier by fleet size, launched non-stop flights between Guangzhou and New York on Wednesday.

The flights, the first non-stop service between Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, and New York, are expected to help cope with the increasing air traffic between the world's two largest economies.

China Southern Airlines will use 309-seat Boeing 777-300ER planes for four round-trip flights per week. A single trip takes about 16 hours.

Direct flights operated by Air China and China Eastern Airlines have connected New York with Beijing and Shanghai.

Last year, 1.8 million trips were made from China to the United States, up 300 percent from 2009. China is the country's fifth largest tourist source and is expected to become number one by 2017.