Ireland's loss is Australia's gain, writes Conor O'Clery. The Chinese Vice-premier, Mr Zhu Rongji, who last month called off a visit to Ireland and three other EU countries over criticism of China's human rights record is to travel to Australia instead. He will travel with one of the strongest teams of Chinese trade and economic experts ever assembled.
Mr Zhu, whose Irish visit had been scheduled for later this month, is taking 120 officials, including 10 ministers and vice-ministers, on a coast-to-coast tour of Australia, according to diplomatic sources in Beijing.
Australia pleased China by refusing this year, for the first time, to back a resolution at the United Nations' Human Rights Commission urging Beijing to respect human rights.
Ireland backed the Danish-inspired motion, as did the Netherlands, Austria and Luxembourg, the three other countries on Mr Zhu's cancelled tour.
The vice-premier would have been the highest-level Chinese official to make an official visit to Ireland. The Irish Ambassador, Mr Joe Hayes, was told by the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing three weeks ago that the vote would damage Sino-Irish ties.