Irish head of govt starts official trip

Taoiseach, or prime minister, of Ireland Micheal Martin began his five-day official visit to China on Sunday, the first tour to the country by a Taoiseach of Ireland in 14 years.

In recent years, the China-Ireland strategic partnership for mutually beneficial cooperation has enjoyed robust development, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

The two sides have always treated each other with mutual respect and equality, and through open cooperation, have achieved mutual complementarity and common development, benefiting the two peoples, said the spokesperson.