AIRLINES will be able to almost double weekly airline seats between Australia and China this year following new government-to-government negotiations.

The Australian Transport Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that the weekly number of airline seats between the two countries will increase from 8500 to14,500 in stages by November this year – enough for an extra one or two widebody jets per day.

The extra seats will cater for Chinese holidaymakers wanting to travel Down Under, but also for the increasing number of Australians travelling to China.

A total of 277,000 Australians visited China, excluding Hong Kong, last year, more than for all other Asian destinations, apart from the holiday spots of Thailand and Indonesia (Bali).

"Significantly, the latest agreement contains a shared commitment to commencing negotiations aimed at concluding an 'open skies' agreement, an outcome that would remove most - if not all - of the existing limitations on Australian and Chinese airlines operating between our two countries," Mr Albanese said yesterday.

"Today's announcement is a significant breakthrough, reinforcing the importance of our economic relationship with China, now Australia's largest trading partner.

"It will allow the airlines of both sides to better compete within the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific region and it positions the Australian aviation industry at the forefront of the rapidly developing Chinese market.

"The Asia-Pacific is now the world's biggest aviation market and last year alone, nearly 1.4 million people travelled between Australia and China.  In fact, over the past five years passenger growth on routes between our two countries has averaged 16.9 per cent."