China and Ireland launch bilateral fund

"China, as a less traditional partner of Ireland, is becoming the world's economic giant. We want to develop ever-closer economic ties with China," the minister said.

Ireland witnessed a net increase of 7,071 posts by foreign investors in 2013, the highest level of job creation in more than a decade, according to data from IDA Ireland, the Irish government agency responsible for attracting foreign direct investment.

While the Chinese presence is still at a relatively moderate level, Howlin said a number of high-profile companies, including Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, Tencent Holdings Ltd and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, have either gained a foothold or embarked on business expansion.

The latest example is China's fifth-largest lender, Bank of Communications Co Ltd, whose financial leasing arm established its European headquarters in Dublin in February, from where it will manage 21 aircraft.

Likewise, Irish firms are also looking for investment opportunities in China as the market matures and regulatory transparency increases.

Since 2008, China has outpaced Australia to become the top market in the Asia-Pacific region for small and medium-sized Irish enterprises, said Alan Dixon, a Shanghai-based director of Enterprise Ireland, a government agency overseeing the development and growth of Irish enterprises across the world.

"There are more than 90 Irish companies with either investment or partnerships in China spanning from manufacturing, food to high-tech industries. We expect these areas to grow exponentially in the years to come," said Dixon.

He said the Chinese government has made big strides in relation to intellectual property protection, a long-term concern held by multinational corporations including those from Ireland. These have helped them determine their business strategies in China.

Total Chinese investment in Ireland amounted to $150 million by the end of 2012, compared with $148 million by the end of 2011, according to the Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office of the Chinese Embassy in Ireland. Bilateral trade stood at 8 billion euros.

The Irish government proposed a 10-year strategy in early 2014 to boost trade between Ireland and China and other Asian countries which could treble trade levels to 20 billion euros a year and create thousands of new jobs.