NEW YORK, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- China Southern Airlines will launch its first non-stop flight from Los Angeles to Shenyang on Dec. 18, connecting the U.S. west coast with northeast China.

China Southern "will serve to strengthen and open new opportunities for economic, cultural and trade exchanges between the two countries with the new route," Hou Ming, head of China Southern Airlines North America, said at the launch ceremony in New York City on Friday night.

China Southern Airlines currently has weekly direct flights from Los Angeles to Guangzhou, from San Francisco to Guangzhou, and from San Francisco to Wuhan.

The airliner is also operating daily direct flights from Vancouver to Guangzhou, and weekly direct flights from Toronto to Guangzhou and flights depart from Mexico City via Vancouver to Guangzhou.

The Los Angeles-Shenyang will increase the capacity between North America and China by approximately 10 percent, Hou said.

China Southern, which has a fleet of around 800 aircraft and transported 126 million passengers in 2017, was named among the most valuable airline brands by Brand Finance, an international consultancy.