‘No security risk’ in Irish-China university links -Taoiseach

The Taoiseach does not believe there is a security threat from closer ties between Irish third-level institutions and China.

Before Christmas, the head of the Irish Military Intelligence Service had suggested that Chinese influence over research in Irish colleges was a security risk.

The unnamed officer added that China was a “hostile state actor” that the Irish military has a “concern about”.

On the third day of a five-day trip to China, Micheál Martin said he did not believe that there was a risk. Mr Martin was speaking at a Beijing hotel after a showcase of the third-level sectors of both nations, attended by 12 Irish institutions.

Asked if he had concerns about national security related to Chinese funding of research in Ireland, Mr Martin said that little of the research was sensitive and that there were “guardrails”. "I don’t see a security risk. Genuinely. I think there are enough guardrails in place to prevent anything like that occurring.”

After meeting with third-level institutions, he said there was “no sense of this in any practical terms, or any manifestation of what’s been asserted”.

Mr Martin said: “The most fundamental issue for us will always be academic autonomy and academic freedom and the preservation of that, but that has never come in to any danger or threat from these partnerships.”

The Taoiseach said that universities here have been involved with colleges in China for quite a long time, and the undergraduate programmes don’t have any security risks.

“And the arrangements are practical, are of benefit, financially and otherwise, to the Irish universities. But also, there’s no great sensitive research on the way in the context of security issues or anything like that.”

Asked about the potential of an EU-China trade deal, Mr Martin said that such a move was “logical”, for the two to resolve trading issues.

He said: “Issues have emerged in terms of rare minerals, in terms of EVs, in terms of agricultural products, and we’ve experienced that. So, the articulation yesterday was one that Europe and China should engage, with a view to trying to resolve it within a broader framework.

“Ireland will always be constructive on trading matters. We’ve always been in the school within the European Union that has favoured open trade, we’ve always been worried about protectionist trends, because we’re a small, open economy, and we export over 90% of what we produce, and so it would be problematic for us if the world goes more protectionist.”

Mr Martin said he was not in a position to “flesh out” what a deal might look like, but said talks have been positive with Chinese leaders.

On Monday, the Taoiseach met Chinese president Xi Jinping, and yesterday he met with the second and third-highest ranking members of the ruling Communist Party. Mr Martin said the meetings have been positive.