The first commercial direct flight from Guangzhou to Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, took off at 01:00 AM (Beijing time) on December 20. The flight, operated by China Southern Airlines, will arrive at the Port Moresby Airport at 9:29 AM local time. The flying time is about 6 hours and 29 minutes.

Papua New Guinea is the first Pacific island country to sign a memorandum of understanding and cooperation plan for jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with China. Port Moresby is the largest city in Papua New Guinea and the nation's political, economic, and cultural center.

In October, during the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, China and Papua New Guinea issued a joint statement declaring that the two sides agreed to open direct flights between Guangzhou and Port Moresby at an early date.