Taoiseach meets Chinese foreign minister in Dublin

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

The Taoiseach and Tánaiste have welcomed Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Dublin.

The senior figures discussed EU-China relations, trade, human rights, and the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris hosted Mr Wang on Monday.

China is Ireland’s largest trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region, with total bilateral trade amounting to €36 billion in 2023. Irish goods exports to China have increased by 529 per cent in the decade since 2013.

Exports to China are driven by medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and computer services as well as agri-food and increasingly, financial services.

Welcomed Chinese FM Wang Yi to Government Buildings.

We discussed strengthened relations between Ireland and China and global issues, including our commitment to multilateralism, the protection of human rights, and a just, sustainable peace in Ukraine and the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/oN4evuvymw

— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) February 17, 2025

Mr Martin said Ireland wants to grow its ties with China sustainably, based on “fair competition, across a wide range of sectors, including in the area of agri-food”.

In a statement after the meetings, he said: “We discussed strengthened relations between Ireland and China and global issues, including our commitment to multilateralism, the protection of human rights, and a just, sustainable peace in Ukraine and the Middle East.”

Mr Harris, who is also Ireland’s foreign minister, said there had been “detailed and constructive exchanges on various issues.

He said: “Both Ireland and the EU more broadly have a comprehensive economic relationship with China.

“I stressed our interest in maintaining and strengthening that relationship, on the basis of the global multilateral trading system, with transparent, equitable and mutually agreed parameters and a level playing field.

“I also took the opportunity to raise a number of trade issues of importance to Ireland and requested that the Chinese authorities allow the resumption of access for Irish beef to China. We also discussed issues on higher education links between our two countries.”

Mr Harris also said he expressed Ireland’s long-held concerns around the human rights situation in China, particularly about the National Security Law in Hong Kong, and the treatment of minorities in Xinjiang and elsewhere.

“I emphasised Ireland’s long-held view that all human rights issues of concern should be comprehensively discussed and examined within the UN human rights architecture.”