A new air service is scheduled to be launched between the northwest China city of Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and Dubai on March 27, a regional official said Friday.

China Eastern Airlines would operate two round-trip flights a week between the two cities, with a stopover in the southwest China city of Kunming, said Zhang Chao, deputy director of the Port Office of the Ningxia regional government.

"The opening of regular flights will help boost the trade and cultural exchanges between Ningxia and the Middle East," he said.

Ningxia has China's largest Hui ethnic group, and its Muslim population is at least 10 percent of the country's 20 million Muslims.

In September last year, Ningxia hosted the first China-Arab Economic and Trade Forum.