Photo taken on Oct. 12, 2017 shows an Ethiopian Airlines plane at the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. Ethiopian Airlines Group which is the largest airline group in Africa has been voted as the 2017 Middle East and Africa Airline of the Year by Airline Economics Magazine. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's national flag carrier Ethiopian Airlines (ET) is mulling flights to Chongqing, a major southwestern Chinese city, an Ethiopian official said on Monday.

Speaking to Xinhua, Yared Berta, Regional Director for China, Mongolia and North Korea at ET, said the airlines wants to tap into the increasing demand for passenger and cargo traffic between China and Africa.

Chongqing, a city of around 17 million people is a major center for motor vehicle and high value electronics production.

Berta also said Ethiopian Airlines wants to attract an increasing number of Chinese tourists to Ethiopia as the East African country seeks to be a top tourism destination in Africa.

Ethiopian Airlines currently has five destinations in China, being Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou.

ET is already preparing to start flights to the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen from June 2018.

Shenzhen, in China's Guangdong Province, is home to internationally known high-tech companies including Huawei and ZTE.

Ethiopian Airlines became the first African carrier and the fourth in the world to fly to China back in 1973.