MADRID, May 22 (Xinhuanet) -- China and Spain resumed their direct flight Sunday as an Air Europa plane left Madrid for Beijing.

    The Airbus 340-200 with over 280 passengers on board took off at 5:00 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), heading for Beijing's Capital International Airport. The non-stop journey will take 11 hours.

    Air Europa's Beijing-Madrid flight is currently the only directflight between the two countries, and the company is scheduled to launch its direct Madrid-Shanghai flight Monday.

    Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Jose Montilla said the new routes will promote Spain-China exchanges in tourism, economy and trade. 
   
     About 36,000 Spanish tourists visited China and about 20,000 Chinese tourists came to Spain last year, he said.

    There will be two round-trip flights weekly between Madrid and Shanghai and between Madrid and Beijing respectively. 

China's Eastern Airlines launched its direct Shanghai-Madrid flight in June 1992 but canceled it in November 2003 after years of losses. Enditem