Consul-General in Guangzhou

Media release

11 February 2014

Today I announce the appointment of Dominic Trindade as Australia's next Consul-General in Guangzhou.

Mr Trindade is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and has previously served overseas as Australia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the WTO in Geneva, Deputy High Commissioner in Singapore and Second Secretary in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He has been a Legal Adviser to the Department on international, trade and domestic law and has also worked on trade policy and negotiations.

Mr Trindade has Arts (Asian Studies) and Law degrees from the University of Melbourne, a Graduate Diploma in Foreign Affairs and Trade from the Australian National University and has been admitted to practice as a lawyer. He also speaks Chinese.

The Consulate-General in Guangzhou is located in Guangdong, one of China's most populous and economically advanced provinces. Guangdong alone accounts for around a quarter of China's two-way trade in goods. In 2012, Australia-Guangdong two-way trade was US$13.3 billion and Guangdong accounted for approximately 10.9 per cent of Australia's total merchandise trade with China.

Australia and Guangdong have enjoyed over 150 years of strong people-to-people links. A large proportion of Chinese Australians can trace their ancestors back to Guangdong. Today, many Chinese students studying in Australia and Chinese tourists visiting our shores come from Guangdong. Guangdong has had a sister-state relationship with New South Wales since 1979 and with Queensland since 2008. Fujian has had a sister-state relationship with Tasmania since 1981.

The Consulate-General also has responsibility for the provinces of Guangxi, Hunan, Fujian, and Hainan. He is expected to take up his appointment this month replacing Ms Jill Collins.