South African Airways will start flying from Johannesburg to Beijing, China, on January 31, 2012.

"Introducing direct flights to Beijing is in line with our strategy to expand our network to Asia, the fastest-growing market in the world," said Thevan Krishna, South African Airways' head of Australasia.

South African Airways will fly thrice weekly, every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, to Beijing using Airbus A340-600. The Johannesburg-Beijing flight takes about 15 hours.

"South Africa and Africa is seen as an expanding investment opportunity by China and our new direct service will help support this renewed interest in our region by the Chinese," Thevan said.

South African Airways is expecting a robust investment opportunity in the city as new international destination.