Hainan Airlines, China's fourth largest air carrier, is soon to start flights to Angola to make the most of the rise in the African market, as the official Chinese press reported.

"We expect to open a new route to Angola by the end of the year, due to increased trade and contacts between Africa and China," said Chen Feng, chairman of the carrier, cited by newspaper China Daily.

The paper gave no further details on the new route.

In February, China Southern Airlines announced it would start a flight this year from Guangzhou to Luanda.

According to Chen, the Hainan Airlines strategy "is to fill the gaps of existing destination offers."

Over the last two years, the carrier opened up a series of routes between the biggest Chinese cities and international destinations such as Macau, Brussels, Seoul, Osaka, Kuala Lumpur, Budapest and St. Petersburg.

The company, which operates over 500 routes, also plans a stock exchange listing by the end of the year, after merging with subsidiary airlines, under the name Grand China Air.

Angola also recently announced that its national airline TAAG would launch flights between Luanda and Beijing.