MINISTER FOR Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin kicked off a visit to China with a breakfast meeting with business leaders in Hong Kong yesterday before driving across the border to the southern boomtown of Shenzhen to meet with Irish companies there as well as possible investors.
During his five-day visit this week aimed at promoting diplomatic, trade and education links, he will meet with senior figures in the Chinese political firmament in Beijing, including his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi and Vice Premier Li Keqiang, who is expected to become a senior figure in the next transfer of power in China in two years’ time.
Yesterday in Shenzhen he met former Ernst Young Entrepreneur of the Year Liam Casey, whose PCH supply chain management company is one of Ireland’s most significant presences in China.
While in Beijing he will visit the Foreign Studies University and will attend a reception for the local Irish community. He then moves on to Hong Kong where he will visit the Irish Pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai and attend events at Fudan University there. In Shanghai, he will host a regional meeting of the Global Irish Network. He will also visit Irish companies in Dalian in the northeast.
Mr Martin said the development of Ireland’s political and economic relationship with China was a central element in Irish foreign policy and he said the relationship was “widening and deepening.” “China, including Hong Kong, is now our largest export market in Asia and Australasia. There are now 109 Irish companies with a presence in the People’s Republic of China: 81 in the mainland and 28 in Hong Kong. The total was less than 45 in 2005. We are continuing to prepare the ground to intensify this cooperation,” he said in an address to the Irish Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong.
While conceding that Ireland was going through a tough period at the moment, the tone of his speech was very upbeat on the prospects for the Irish economy and he stressed the strength of the bilateral relationship between China and Ireland.
Mr Martin cited a double taxation agreement with Hong Kong agreed several weeks ago, which would help attract companies to Ireland.