GUANGZHOU, July 9 -- China Southern Airlines, the country's largest air carrier by fleet size, on Wednesday said it will launch non-stop flights between Guangzhou and New York on August 6.

This is the Chinese mainland's first non-stop service between Guangzhou and New York. It will be launched to cash in on the rising people-to-people exchanges between the world's two largest economies.

It is also China Southern's first service linking China with the east coast of the United States. In July 1997, it launched flights to Los Angeles on the west coast of the United States.

The airline said in a statement that it will use a 309-seat Boeing 777-300ER for four round-trip flights per week. A single trip takes about 16 hours.