Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin arrived in Beijing on Sunday, January 4th, marking the first visit by an Irish taoiseach to China since 2012. During his five-day trip, he is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang before traveling to Shanghai, one of China’s economic hubs.
The visit aims to strengthen trade ties, with China serving as Ireland’s largest trading partner in Asia and its fifth largest globally. Martin plans to discuss Irish exports while also addressing broader EU-China relations as Ireland prepares to take the rotating EU presidency in July.
Ahead of his arrival, Martin emphasized the importance of strong multilateral institutions and cooperation on global challenges, including peace and security. China’s foreign ministry stated it is “ready to work with Ireland to enhance political mutual trust and expand mutually beneficial cooperation.”
Martin did not seem to be bothered by the fact that China’s trade with Russia has soared since Ukraine’s invasion or that Beijing is officially ‘neutral’ in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. European states are now clearly seeking to establish beneficial cooperation with China, while Western European leaders and Brussels have earlier blasted Viktor Orbán of Hungary for Budapest’s refusal to decouple from Beijing or Moscow. In October 2024, Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen even suggested Hungary’s China policy poses a security risk to the EU.
