Ireland sees China as key trade partner

Ireland sees China as an increasingly important market and remains a staunch advocate of open and free trade, Micheal Martin, the Taoiseach, or prime minister, of Ireland, said during his ongoing five-day visit to China, highlighting expanding opportunities for Irish businesses amid steadily deepening bilateral ties.

Reflecting on the broader evolution of relations, Martin said during a group interview in Beijing on Monday that Ireland's ties with China have "gone from strength to strength" over the past two decades across economic, cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

"I first came here 20 years ago as enterprise minister, and since then the trading volumes between our two countries have increased exponentially," he said.

Statistics showed that since the establishment of the China-Ireland strategic partnership for mutually beneficial cooperation in 2012, bilateral trade has quadrupled, with balanced development in mutual investment. China is Ireland's largest trading partner in Asia and its fifth-largest trading partner globally.

"It was fascinating to see that today, and it illustrates the potential for future cooperation," said the Irish leader, adding that he is looking forward to expanding cooperation in emerging sectors, particularly in renewable energy, the digital economy and AI.

Martin underscored the significance of the Chinese market for Ireland's food and drink sector, describing it as a homegrown industry underpinned by some of the highest global standards in food production, sustainability and safety.

Martin began his official visit to China on Sunday, marking the first visit by an Irish head of government in 14 years. The visit runs through Thursday and will also take him to Shanghai.

During his stay in the Chinese capital, Martin met respectively with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and the country's top legislator Zhao Leji, expressing Ireland's commitment to strengthening and developing the mutually beneficial strategic partnership between the two countries.

Martin said the high-level dialogue is essential for advancing bilateral relations and constructively managing differences.

He added that both Ireland and China share a strong commitment to multilateralism and active participation in the United Nations, stressing the need to enhance the authority of the world body and ensure its role in resolving conflicts and disputes worldwide.

Ireland is set to assume the rotating presidency of the European Union in July. Martin said that Ireland, the only English-speaking country in the eurozone, views its bilateral ties with China as complementary to broader EU-China relations.

Ireland will continue to advocate within the EU for a constructive and balanced approach toward China that manages tensions and addresses concerns in a comprehensive manner, he said.

"Ireland is against tariffs, which are ultimately damaging to the global economy," he said, acknowledging the need to address economic security concerns through cooperation.

"Ireland is a small island, but we have a big economy built on open trade, exporting nearly 90 percent of what we manufacture," he said. "You can understand our attachment to an open free trade environment."