**China seeks to enhance ties with Ireland to boost relations with EU**
BEIJING, Jan 5 (Reuters) – China is keen on expanding economic and trade cooperation with Ireland while aiming for mutually beneficial results, Chinese President Xi Jinping told the Irish prime minister on Monday, positioning stronger bilateral ties as a way to also boost relations with the European Union.
Xi emphasised mutual respect and achieving win-win outcomes as “valuable experiences” for long-term and stable development of China-Ireland ties in his opening remarks at a meeting with Prime Minister Micheal Martin at the Great Hall of the People, a media pool report showed.
China has shown growing interest in engaging with European Union countries individually as ties with Brussels remain frosty. Beijing has also treated bilateral meetings as a means for conveying its views on relations with the EU.
China and the EU should focus on the long term, take an objective and rational approach to their differences, and look towards win-win cooperation, Xi told Martin, according to state news agency Xinhua.
“It is hoped that Ireland will play a constructive role in the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations,” Xi said, referencing Ireland assuming the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the latter half of this year.
China is interested in cooperating with Ireland in fields such as artificial intelligence, digital economy, pharmaceuticals as well as tourism, Xinhua reported citing Xi, who also urged more coordination and cooperation in international affairs to advocate for multilateralism and international justice.
**Martin, the first Irish Taoiseach to visit Beijing in 14 years**, said that Ireland acknowledged China’s “indispensable role” in the world, highlighting its role in peacekeeping efforts.
He also stressed Ireland’s stance on open trade, a topic that could feature in his discussions with Chinese leaders.
“We believe it’s fundamental that we try and work towards open trade, recognising the interdependence of the world,” the Taoiseach said of trade ties with China.
Martin’s trip comes two weeks after Beijing announced tariffs on EU dairy products, imposing provisional duties of up to 42.7%, the latest in a series of measures against EU exports widely seen as retaliation for the bloc’s electric vehicle tariffs.
Ireland is among Europe’s largest exporters of dairy products, with farms shipping more than 90% of their output, worth about 6 billion euros ($7.02 billion). It was among the EU nations that voted in favour of tariffs on Chinese EVs.
Martin will travel to Shanghai before his state visit ends on Thursday.
Wide-Annual-4858 on
The solution is not boosting partnership with the USA, China, or Russia. The only solution is to deepen the integration within Europe.
No solution will work until we realize that.
Emergency_Link7328 on
Truth is, China is the more reliable and peaceful partner right now.
But we need to unite and rely on ourselves.
LordTrololo on
Is China threatening to annex parts of current or future EU members ?
No.
Let the spice flow, we dont need to make additional enemies with Russians on the east, US on the west and corrupt shitholes in the south (even the latter EU has to bribe, unable to show any force otherwise).
Baset-tissoult28 on
So next US special military operation in Dublin.
ingenkopaaisen on
Lol. “Peacekeeping” whilst supporting Russia and threatening Taiwan.
CantankerousRabbit on
What is this timeline
Euphoric_Raisin_312 on
Don’t fall for it Ireland.
o-Mauler-o on
It seems the world has 4 major powers and the 4th ones needs to realise it needs to be the 4th:
US, China, Russia & Europe. As soon as Europe recognises it is the 4th major power, the rest of us minor powers can rally behind them.
Douglesfield_ on
China is just trying to fill the void the US is leaving.
We’ve got to become closer and stand on our own.
OnkoRec on
China is looking for a weak link in Europe.
KINGDenneh on
What China? I didn’t see that one coming wtf..
njprrogers on
European leader visits China, headlines ensue. None of this changes anything.
The fundamental problem is the EU’s utter reliance on the US (tech, military) and China (manufacturing, chips etc).
Not a thing anyone outside the EU says about the EU unfortunately.
Tumping on
Let’s become allies with china that would fuck the USA off
Ridan82 on
Trump has succeded where no one else has.
He has made EU consider China as an ally. Good job US.
witness_smile on
So many China bots in the comments today
Motor-String-571 on
China is paying for Russia’s war, Keep China out of the EU, they are a direct enemy to our freedom.
PinotRed on
Nice. Now do Denmark.
And ffs stop human rights abuses.
-GenghisJohn- on
China is Desperately Seeking their Orban
XenophonSoulis on
We should boost relations with China, by all means. At some point, we have to stop pretending to be the world’s righteous police and start thinking about our own interests. Right now, on one side we have Russia who may or may not invade and on the other side we have America, who wants Greenland. This creates a realistic possibility of fighting two world powers at once. It’s 1 vs 2 as it stands, not in our favour. Between 2 vs 2 and 1 vs 3, one is clearly better than the other. It’s impossible to fight the entire world at once, no matter who you are.
China is a bit like the Soviet Union was in WW2 after Operation Barbarossa. An uneasy alliance at best, an incubating arch enemy at worst, but also the only available alliance right now. We need to give China a reason to pick us over Russia if we end up at war, because we don’t know who America will choose. And yes, I trust Xi more than Trump right now.
manysigns2244 on
They can never boost ties with the EU as long as they support Russia.
Eastern_Hornet_6432 on
A lot of people here are reacting very weirdly to what is a most tame of diplomatic overtures. Does this article mention either side promising anything? Diplomacy is what world leaders do. Mícheál Martin is the first Taoiseach in 14 years to visit China; meanwhile, Taoisigh visit the USA at least once a year. The takeaway? Ireland is doing the absolute bare minimum to maintain normal diplomatic relations with one of the most important nations on Earth.
PS: thanks to u/childsouldier for the grammatical correction.
TallCommission7139 on
Well they both have a long, proud history of being fucked over by the British…
OLDandBOLDfr on
If the EU can have a positive influence on China then I’m all for it given the absolute garbage coming from America. China could position itself to wipe the last vestiges of PNAC from the earth. It’s just, you know, established totalitarianism vs unhinged uneducated backasswards MAGA right now…
broodjekebab23 on
I think the main goal is to get close enough to both china and the usa that if one of them attacks the other will defend us, both suck but neutrality is better than being america’s puppet
BaddonAOE on
The EU must reduce its dependency on both the US and China. Now is not the time for weakness; it is time to prove that Europe can be a major, sovereign power.
We don’t want to rely even more on China. No, thank you.
Revolutionary-Try443 on
EU RUSSIA CHINA MERCOSUR
America-always-great on
China is find ways to subvert European institutions. Whenever they get caught doing stupid stuff they double down and refuse to admit or try to strong arm the EU. Not worth it.
papiierbulle on
The only power that currently isnt threatening Europe actively is China, and they already are tied to EU deep economically. They have no interest in a poor EU, and i think EU also have benefits especially in the luxury sector from China. It’s already a win-win situation. China may be the next ally of EU tbh
RepresentativePair18 on
Now that TikTok has migrated all European data to Ireland, it all makes sense, of course.
epSos-DE on
They should OPENLY STOP supplying Ruzzia with millinery supplies and spare parts !!
That would improve relationships a lot !
Woolmemphis on
You can do business with the Chinese, but you shouldn’t trust them completely
>As Taoiseach Micheál Martin travels to China on a high-profile trade mission, uncomfortable questions are resurfacing about Ireland’s relationship with Beijing — and the cost of silence in a democracy. In this video, we examine a striking contradiction at the heart of Irish foreign policy. A senior figure in Irish Military Intelligence recently described China as a “hostile state actor” and a growing security concern. Days later, the Taoiseach publicly pushed back on that assessment, arguing that China has not initiated a war in modern times — a claim that overlooks China’s historical record, including the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Cultural Revolution, and the 2022 UN report detailing crimes against humanity against Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
>The timing of those remarks could not have been worse. Just days later, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched large-scale live-fire military exercises around Taiwan, including simulated decapitation strikes and port seizures, accompanied by aggressive propaganda and disinformation campaigns. Taiwan’s President condemned the exercises, while the EU External Action Service warned they endangered regional and international stability. Once again, the Irish government remained silent, sheltering behind EU statements rather than speaking directly.
>This silence is not an isolated incident. It is part of a long-running pattern — what scholars describe as “the anaconda in the chandelier”: the quiet but powerful fear of offending the Chinese Communist Party, shaping political behaviour through self-censorship rather than open debate. This video draws directly from our in-depth podcast episode “The Anaconda in the Irish Chandelier”, which looks back over four decades at how fear of China has influenced Irish policy on human rights, Taiwan, trade, and democratic transparency.
33 commenti
**China seeks to enhance ties with Ireland to boost relations with EU**
BEIJING, Jan 5 (Reuters) – China is keen on expanding economic and trade cooperation with Ireland while aiming for mutually beneficial results, Chinese President Xi Jinping told the Irish prime minister on Monday, positioning stronger bilateral ties as a way to also boost relations with the European Union.
Xi emphasised mutual respect and achieving win-win outcomes as “valuable experiences” for long-term and stable development of China-Ireland ties in his opening remarks at a meeting with Prime Minister Micheal Martin at the Great Hall of the People, a media pool report showed.
China has shown growing interest in engaging with European Union countries individually as ties with Brussels remain frosty. Beijing has also treated bilateral meetings as a means for conveying its views on relations with the EU.
China and the EU should focus on the long term, take an objective and rational approach to their differences, and look towards win-win cooperation, Xi told Martin, according to state news agency Xinhua.
“It is hoped that Ireland will play a constructive role in the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations,” Xi said, referencing Ireland assuming the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the latter half of this year.
China is interested in cooperating with Ireland in fields such as artificial intelligence, digital economy, pharmaceuticals as well as tourism, Xinhua reported citing Xi, who also urged more coordination and cooperation in international affairs to advocate for multilateralism and international justice.
**Martin, the first Irish Taoiseach to visit Beijing in 14 years**, said that Ireland acknowledged China’s “indispensable role” in the world, highlighting its role in peacekeeping efforts.
He also stressed Ireland’s stance on open trade, a topic that could feature in his discussions with Chinese leaders.
“We believe it’s fundamental that we try and work towards open trade, recognising the interdependence of the world,” the Taoiseach said of trade ties with China.
Martin’s trip comes two weeks after Beijing announced tariffs on EU dairy products, imposing provisional duties of up to 42.7%, the latest in a series of measures against EU exports widely seen as retaliation for the bloc’s electric vehicle tariffs.
Ireland is among Europe’s largest exporters of dairy products, with farms shipping more than 90% of their output, worth about 6 billion euros ($7.02 billion). It was among the EU nations that voted in favour of tariffs on Chinese EVs.
Martin will travel to Shanghai before his state visit ends on Thursday.
The solution is not boosting partnership with the USA, China, or Russia. The only solution is to deepen the integration within Europe.
No solution will work until we realize that.
Truth is, China is the more reliable and peaceful partner right now.
But we need to unite and rely on ourselves.
Is China threatening to annex parts of current or future EU members ?
No.
Let the spice flow, we dont need to make additional enemies with Russians on the east, US on the west and corrupt shitholes in the south (even the latter EU has to bribe, unable to show any force otherwise).
So next US special military operation in Dublin.
Lol. “Peacekeeping” whilst supporting Russia and threatening Taiwan.
What is this timeline
Don’t fall for it Ireland.
It seems the world has 4 major powers and the 4th ones needs to realise it needs to be the 4th:
US, China, Russia & Europe. As soon as Europe recognises it is the 4th major power, the rest of us minor powers can rally behind them.
China is just trying to fill the void the US is leaving.
We’ve got to become closer and stand on our own.
China is looking for a weak link in Europe.
What China? I didn’t see that one coming wtf..
European leader visits China, headlines ensue. None of this changes anything.
The fundamental problem is the EU’s utter reliance on the US (tech, military) and China (manufacturing, chips etc).
Not a thing anyone outside the EU says about the EU unfortunately.
Let’s become allies with china that would fuck the USA off
Trump has succeded where no one else has.
He has made EU consider China as an ally. Good job US.
So many China bots in the comments today
China is paying for Russia’s war, Keep China out of the EU, they are a direct enemy to our freedom.
Nice. Now do Denmark.
And ffs stop human rights abuses.
China is Desperately Seeking their Orban
We should boost relations with China, by all means. At some point, we have to stop pretending to be the world’s righteous police and start thinking about our own interests. Right now, on one side we have Russia who may or may not invade and on the other side we have America, who wants Greenland. This creates a realistic possibility of fighting two world powers at once. It’s 1 vs 2 as it stands, not in our favour. Between 2 vs 2 and 1 vs 3, one is clearly better than the other. It’s impossible to fight the entire world at once, no matter who you are.
China is a bit like the Soviet Union was in WW2 after Operation Barbarossa. An uneasy alliance at best, an incubating arch enemy at worst, but also the only available alliance right now. We need to give China a reason to pick us over Russia if we end up at war, because we don’t know who America will choose. And yes, I trust Xi more than Trump right now.
They can never boost ties with the EU as long as they support Russia.
A lot of people here are reacting very weirdly to what is a most tame of diplomatic overtures. Does this article mention either side promising anything? Diplomacy is what world leaders do. Mícheál Martin is the first Taoiseach in 14 years to visit China; meanwhile, Taoisigh visit the USA at least once a year. The takeaway? Ireland is doing the absolute bare minimum to maintain normal diplomatic relations with one of the most important nations on Earth.
PS: thanks to u/childsouldier for the grammatical correction.
Well they both have a long, proud history of being fucked over by the British…
If the EU can have a positive influence on China then I’m all for it given the absolute garbage coming from America. China could position itself to wipe the last vestiges of PNAC from the earth. It’s just, you know, established totalitarianism vs unhinged uneducated backasswards MAGA right now…
I think the main goal is to get close enough to both china and the usa that if one of them attacks the other will defend us, both suck but neutrality is better than being america’s puppet
The EU must reduce its dependency on both the US and China. Now is not the time for weakness; it is time to prove that Europe can be a major, sovereign power.
We don’t want to rely even more on China. No, thank you.
EU RUSSIA CHINA MERCOSUR
China is find ways to subvert European institutions. Whenever they get caught doing stupid stuff they double down and refuse to admit or try to strong arm the EU. Not worth it.
The only power that currently isnt threatening Europe actively is China, and they already are tied to EU deep economically. They have no interest in a poor EU, and i think EU also have benefits especially in the luxury sector from China. It’s already a win-win situation. China may be the next ally of EU tbh
Now that TikTok has migrated all European data to Ireland, it all makes sense, of course.
They should OPENLY STOP supplying Ruzzia with millinery supplies and spare parts !!
That would improve relationships a lot !
You can do business with the Chinese, but you shouldn’t trust them completely
#[China Fear Factor – How Beijing shapes Irish Politics](https://youtube.com/shorts/D_JlrzUpAs8?si=jMFp3ZS4xLs8CSx1)
>As Taoiseach Micheál Martin travels to China on a high-profile trade mission, uncomfortable questions are resurfacing about Ireland’s relationship with Beijing — and the cost of silence in a democracy. In this video, we examine a striking contradiction at the heart of Irish foreign policy. A senior figure in Irish Military Intelligence recently described China as a “hostile state actor” and a growing security concern. Days later, the Taoiseach publicly pushed back on that assessment, arguing that China has not initiated a war in modern times — a claim that overlooks China’s historical record, including the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Cultural Revolution, and the 2022 UN report detailing crimes against humanity against Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
>The timing of those remarks could not have been worse. Just days later, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched large-scale live-fire military exercises around Taiwan, including simulated decapitation strikes and port seizures, accompanied by aggressive propaganda and disinformation campaigns. Taiwan’s President condemned the exercises, while the EU External Action Service warned they endangered regional and international stability. Once again, the Irish government remained silent, sheltering behind EU statements rather than speaking directly.
>This silence is not an isolated incident. It is part of a long-running pattern — what scholars describe as “the anaconda in the chandelier”: the quiet but powerful fear of offending the Chinese Communist Party, shaping political behaviour through self-censorship rather than open debate. This video draws directly from our in-depth podcast episode “The Anaconda in the Irish Chandelier”, which looks back over four decades at how fear of China has influenced Irish policy on human rights, Taiwan, trade, and democratic transparency.