Micheál Martin to visit China for meeting with Xi Jinping

By Claudia Savage, Press Association

Micheál Martin is set to travel to China to meet with President Xi Jinping, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has announced.

The Taoiseach’s trip to the country next week will be the first visit by an Irish leader in 14 years.

Beijing has been strengthening ties with individual members of the European Union despite tensions with the EU bloc over tariffs and human rights issues.

In late 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish King Felipe VI met with President Xi in separate trips to China.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is due to visit China in late January, having previously met China’s leader at the G20 in Brazil in 2024.

During his five-day trip, Mr Martin will also meet with Chinese premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the ministry said in a statement, and will visit Shanghai.

China’s foreign ministry said the country is ready to work with Ireland to expand cooperation and foster China-EU relations.

Mr Martin met the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, in Dublin in February 2025, where they discussed EU-China relations, trade, human rights and the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

In December, China imposed up to 42.7 per cent of provisional tariffs on dairy products including milk and cheese imported from the EU.

China had initiated other probes into European brandy and pork imports as countermeasures for the EU’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

The Taoiseach’s visit comes at a time of rising Sino-Japan tension.

Beginning Sunday, China will separately be hosting South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for four days who will also meet with President Xi.

In November Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi said that her country’s military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its sovereign territory.

Last week, China conducted large-scale military drills around the island for two days to warn against what it called separatist and “external interference” forces.

Ahead of his trip, Mr Lee said that South Korea consistently respects the One China policy when it comes to Taiwan during an interview with China’s state broadcaster CCTV.