Sergio Aguero selfie: Manchester City striker pictured with David Cameron and

The route, to be opened in June 2016, will be the first non-stop flight between the two cities.

The announcement of a new Hainan Airlines (HNA) link between Beijing and Manchester on Friday is just another achievement thanks to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s five-day visit to Britain.

Xi Jingping is expected to make the announcement at Manchester Airport while accompanied by prime minister David Cameron.

As businesses in China and the North take advantage of the improved connectivity, the Manchester-Beijing route will generate further economic benefits in terms of productivity, increased trade and collaboration, and increased foreign direct investment.

For the last leg of the president’s United Kingdom visit, he will head to the famous football city of Manchester in the northwest of England.

Hainan Airlines has a young luxury fleet mainly composed of Boeing 737s, 787s and Airbus 330s configured for both passenger and cargo flights, providing passengers with premium first class in which each seat is surrounded by dividers assuring the passenger full privacy as well as a newly upgraded spacious and comfortable business class. The airline has, to date, launched over 500 inbound and outbound routes connecting passengers to more than 90 cities around the world, with comprehensive coverage across China and extending into Asia, Europe and North America.

Later President Xi is scheduled to visit the University of Manchester, and attend an event at the Manchester Airport before heading back to Beijing.

Announced in October 2013, Airport City Manchester (pictured) is a joint venture partnership that brings together Manchester Airports Group, Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG), Carillion, the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and Argent. The proposed China Cluster would be based around two campuses within Airport City, Wuhan Square and Shenzhen Gardens, that collectively total 484,376 sq ft.

The President of The People’s Republic of China, His Excellency Xi Jinping, and the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Cameron MP, visited Manchester Airport today to unveil new direct flights from Manchester to Beijing, operated by Hainan Airlines, and also launch the £130 million “China Cluster” project at Airport City Manchester.

Congratulating Hainan Airlines on the launch of the new route, Manchester Airports Group CEO Charlie Cornish said, “I am honored to witness the launch of Hainan Airlines’ Beijing-Manchester route”.

Xi said that the sport was an important part of China-UK exchanges and that China could learn from British football.

Lynda Shillaw, the boss behind Airport City, said the “China Cluster” would see big corporations and smaller businesses working side-by-side.