KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will launch a twice-weekly Amsterdam to Beijing service on June 26, the culmination of five years of negotiations.
Vincent Vogt, KLM manager for China, Hong Kong and Macau, said the company's nine-year service to Taiwan had been a stumbling block in securing the run to Beijing.
As part of its agreement with the Chinese Government, KLM will fly the Beijing route while a subsidiary company, KLM Asia, will fly to Taiwan. The China route will be serviced by a Boeing 747-400 on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Mr Vogt said the company was pleased that an agreement had been finalised.
About 40 per cent of the passengers on the Beijing run will be businessmen.
'It has finally opened the door to a potentially lucrative market and we hope to expand rapidly to Shanghai and other cities,' he said.
'Booking figures show the flights are already full, indicating the demand is there in Europe.' The airline's original request for four weekly flights to Beijing and Shanghai was denied.