ADDIS ABABA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's national flag carrier Ethiopian Airlines (ET) is to start cargo flights to Zhengzhou, an Ethiopian official said on Tuesday.

Speaking to Xinhua, Busera Awol, Chief Commercial Officer at ET, said the planned cargo flights to Zhengzhou will boost air connection between the central Chinese city and the African continent.

"Ethiopian Airlines currently has daily passenger flights to Guangzhou and Beijing and three times a week passenger flights to Chengdu as well as daily passenger and cargo flights to Hong Kong and Shanghai" he said.

Awol declined to disclose when the cargo flights planned to Zhengzhou will be started or the possible flight frequencies under consideration.

Speaking to Xinhua earlier this year, Yared Berta, Regional Director of China, Mongolia and North Korea for ET, said the airlines' planned cargo flights to Zhengzhou is part of efforts to attract new customers, particularly in China's hinterland.

"Currently ET transports about 80,000 passengers and 60,000 tons of cargo annually through its five gateways in China," he said.

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