Xi meets Taoiseach of Ireland

China is willing to strengthen strategic communication with Ireland, deepen political mutual trust and expand pragmatic cooperation to benefit the peoples of both countries and add momentum to China-EU relations, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday.

When meeting with Taoiseach of Ireland Micheal Martin in Beijing, Xi said China is willing to strengthen economic and trade cooperation with Ireland, align development strategies in fields such as artificial intelligence, digital economy, and medicine and healthcare, promote two-way investment, leverage each other's strengths, share opportunities and pursue common development.

The two sides should enhance cooperation in education, culture and tourism to foster greater people-to-people affinity, and China welcomes more Irish youth to come to China for study and exchanges, Xi said.

Both China and Ireland support multilateralism and advocate international fairness and justice, Xi added, while urging the two sides to strengthen coordination and cooperation in international affairs, and jointly maintain the authority of the UN and make the global governance system more just and equitable.

Xi said China and the EU should bear the long-term picture in mind, uphold the positioning of partnership, and view and handle differences objectively and rationally to work for win-win cooperation.

As Ireland will hold the rotating EU presidency in the second half of this year, China hopes Ireland will play a constructive role in promoting the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations, the Chinese president said.

Noting that Ireland firmly adheres to the one-China policy, Martin said the country is committed to developing the strategic partnership for mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

Ireland is willing to deepen cooperation with China in trade, investment, science and technology, biomedicine, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, education and other fields, Martin noted.