Two Chinese diplomats were killed and a third was injured in a gun attack at a restaurant in the central Philippine city of Cebu on Wednesday, police said.

The deputy consul and the finance officer for the Chinese consulate in Cebu were killed, and the consul general was wounded, national police spokesman Wilben Mayor told AFP in a text message.

Two Chinese were arrested following the attack, one of whom is the husband of a diplomat at the consulate, Mayor said.

The other person arrested was a woman who also worked at the embassy, according to Mayor.

He said police retrieved a semi-automatic .45 Colt pistol from the scene.

The attack occurred at 1:30pm (0530 GMT) at a popular Cebu restaurant that serves Filipino food.

A spokeswoman at the Chinese embassy in Manila, Li Lingxiao, said she could not comment immediately.

"Our embassy is still verifying the facts. We'll update you as soon as I have anything new," Li said in a text message to AFP.

Philippine foreign ministry spokesman Charles Jose also said he had no comment, as authorities were still determining what happened.