Taoiseach set for China visit

Taoiseach Enda Kenny arrives in Shanghai on Sunday at the start of a four-day official visit to the People’s Republic of China that includes meetings with premier Wen Jiabao and vice president Xi Jinping.

This will be the Taoiseach’s second meeting with Mr Xi, who was in Ireland last month and who conveyed an invitation from Mr Wen for Mr Kenny to make a reciprocal visit to China.

The Taoiseach’s programme in Shanghai includes a meeting with mayor Han Zheng as well as an Innovation Ireland business breakfast.

Mr Kenny flies to Beijing on Monday afternoon where his first engagement is a meeting with Mr Xi at the Diaoyutai State Guest House.

On Tuesday he will be formally welcomed by Mr Wen at the Great Hall of the People, on the western edge of Tiananmen Square, where official talks will be followed by a state banquet for the Taoiseach and his delegation.

The Beijing programme also includes business events, an address by the Taoiseach at Tsinghua University and a courtesy call on Wu Bangguo, chairman of the National People’s Congress, also at the Great Hall of the People.

The main cultural event in the programme is a visit to the Forbidden City, the walled enclosure in central Beijing which contains the palaces of 24 emperors from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Previously closed to the public, it is now a major museum and tourist attraction.

A statement from the Taoiseach’s office said he would use the four-day visit to promote trade links and investment by China, particularly in Ireland's education, financial services, tourism, life sciences, clean-tech and agri-food sectors.

“The key aims of the visit are to develop stronger relations with China and to promote Ireland both as a source of world-class products and services for the Chinese market and as a location for Chinese investment,” the statement said.

Mr Kenny will be accompanied by the Minister for Jobs Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton as well as business and academic leaders from different sectors along with representatives of State agencies.

Mr Kenny’s predecessor as taoiseach, Brian Cowen, made a similar visit to the People’s Republic in October 2008 which coincided with a major political controversy back home over the proposed withdrawal of the automatic right to a medical card for persons over the age of 70 years.

Fine Gael TD for Dublin Mid-West, Derek Keating said the Government’s efforts to strengthen economic links with China had been beneficial and a continued drive would assist Ireland’s economic recovery.

“Irish exports to China have been rising exponentially, thanks to a sustained and targeted drive by the Government to forge stronger economic links between the two countries.

“Exports of food and beverages alone rose from €135 million in 2010 to an estimated €180 millions in 2011, which follows on from strong Irish export growth generally and excellent performance by the agri-food industry last year,” Mr Keating said.