Portugal has named Duarte Bué Alves as the head of the new Consulate General in Guangzhou, the capital city of the Chinese province of Guangdong.

The Portuguese Foreign Ministry has confirmed the appointment, the Macau Portuguese-language newspaper Ponto Final reported on Thursday. The news had first been reported by Diário do Povo, a fortnightly, bilingual newspaper published in Portugal in Chinese and Portuguese.

José Cesário, Portuguese Secretary of State of Portuguese Communities Abroad, said earlier this month that the country intended to set up a consulate in Guangzhou by October. Aside from the Portuguese Ambassador to China in Beijing, the Portuguese Government currently has Consulates General in Macao and Shanghai.

Mr Alves, 42, was previously an adviser to the Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture and Sea. He has also served in diplomatic posts in Luanda in Angola, Brussels in Belgium and Tokyo, Japan, according to the report.