Next week, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, travels to China at the head of the largest trade mission ever to leave Irish shores. Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent, reports.
Terra, the drinks company based in Bailieboro, Co Cavan, that makes Molly's Cream Liqueur, has sold its products from the United States to Russia - but not, so far, in China.
Next week the company's sales and marketing director, Mr Carl Keenan, will be one of 200 Irish business people trying to make inroads in the world's fifth-biggest market.
He believes the presence on the visit of the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and other senior ministers including Mr Martin and Ms Hanafin, is vital.
"Cold calling doesn't work in China. Sending out brochures might work in some countries, but that doesn't appear to be the case there," he said.
"Relationship-building is extremely important. For us to go on a Government-backed trip gives us instant credibility - or, rather, the potential to create credibility."
The need to move slowly and deliberately is emphasised by Mr Finbarr Power, the chief executive of CNG Travel based in Kenmare, Co Kerry.
Now one of the world's biggest Internet travel companies, CNG is set to do a deal in China with a major travel agency there. "People like to know who they are doing business with," Mr Power said.
The Irish focus on China has been growing since 1998, following the Government's bid to raise Ireland's profile among all key Asian countries, particularly China.
Links with China have grown considerably since, and a host of leading Chinese politicians have visited. Last year alone Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and vice premier Huang Ju visited.
The Chinese are working hard, however, to build business links with many countries.
"We noticed how assiduous they were about meeting the new EU states last year at a conference in Vietnam," one Irish official noted.
During the trade mission, which gets under way in earnest on Tuesday, the Taoiseach will visit Beijing and Shanghai before travelling to Hong Kong.
He will meet President Hu Jintao and Mr Wen, as well as Hong Kong's Chief Secretary, Mr Tung Chee-hwa.
The trade possibilities are immense. In a few years, China will export $1 trillion worth of goods annually, second only to the US.
Between January and November last year, Irish-based companies sold €577 million of goods to China, though €2.3 billion of goods came in the other direction.
Most of the Irish exports are coming from multinational firms, however.
"The scale of Irish indigenous exports remains modest," one top Irish civil servant said.
In 2003, Irish-owned firms exported just €48.2 million to China and a further €14 million to Hong Kong - though even this marks an increase of 170 per cent since 1999.
One of the biggest Irish-owned companies, Glen Dimplex, however, has invested heavily in China in a joint-venture in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province.
The investment followed five years of work. "They worked and worked at it for three years before they found a partner. The Chinese are very careful," the same official said.
The list of other Irish companies involved in China is a "who's who" of the Irish Stock Exchange, including CRH, Kerry Foods, Kingspan and Iona Technologies.
One of the most visible examples of Sino-Irish links has been the number of Chinese students travelling here for English language courses.
The experience, for many, has been poor.
In some cases, disreputable schools have charged students thousands of euro and then delivered very little teaching, damaging the reputations of more reputable schools along the way.
In other cases, young foreigners have posed as students to get visas, only to enter the Irish workforce as quickly as possible after they arrive in Ireland.
The Department of Education and Science wants to offer a quality mark to properly registered schools to attract more students.
The effort could be hindered, however, by the Department of Justice's determination to clamp down on visa scams.
Under Mr McDowell's proposed changes, foreign students granted permission after registering with the Garda would not be able to work unless they were attending a full-time course of at least one year, leading to a qualification recognised by the Minister for Education.
But the real money lies in third-level education, where a potentially unlimited pool of customers is available.
Enterprise Ireland has run education fairs in China for the last five years, and has expanded its operations beyond Beijing and Shanghai to lesser-known cities such as Suzhou, Dalian, and Xi'an.
Although Enterprise Ireland does work with language schools, its primary focus is on building links between Chinese universities and Irish third-level institutions, the semi-state agency made clear.
University College Dublin has had a presence in the region since 1994, running business courses in Hong Kong in partnership with the Asia Pacific Management Institute.
Now it is pitching to bring Chinese students to its Belfield campus, just as it already does US students at €6,000 a head.