Governor Mao Weiming of the southern Chinese province of Hunan has said his government supports the establishment in the Hunan city of Changsha of a centre to facilitate exchanges by the province and the Portuguese-speaking world, the China News website reports.

The Chinese state-run website says Mr Mao said so when he and the ambassadors to China of Timor-Leste, Guinea-Bissau, Cabo Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Mozambique and Angola met to discuss industrial cooperation.

Mr Mao said the facility and the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo would increase trade between Hunan and lusophone countries.

Timorese Ambassador to China Bendito dos Santos Freitas expressed a wish for Macao to play a part in arranging cooperation by Hunan and the Portuguese-speaking world, the China News website says.

Separately, a Chinese state-run newspaper, the China Daily, reports that the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo will be held in Changsha in September.