Taoiseach Micheál Martin arrives in Beijing on Sunday for an official visit to China that will also take him to Shanghai and include meetings with the top three figures in the Communist Party leadership.
In Beijing on Monday and Tuesday, Mr Martin will meet president Xi Jinping, premier Li Qiang and National People’s Congress (NPC) chairman Zhao Leji.
The meetings are expected to focus on the relationship between the European Union and China and on global issues as well as the bilateral political and economic relationship between Dublin and Beijing.
“I look forward to engaging with President Xi, Premier Li and Chairman Zhao of the National People’s Congress,” the Taoiseach said ahead of the visit.
“In addition to discussing the broad relationship between Ireland and China, we will exchange views on pressing global challenges including peace and security and the trading environment. I will stress the importance of a strong EU-China relationship, as well as robust and effective multilateral institutions.”
China’s foreign ministry said it hoped the Taoiseach’s visit would promote the “sound and steady” advancement of China-EU relations.
“In recent years, the China-Ireland strategic partnership for mutually beneficial co-operation has enjoyed robust development,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Our two sides have always treated each other with mutual respect and equality … Through the upcoming visit, China stands ready to work with Ireland to enhance political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial co-operation.”
Chinese president Xi Jinping seen here delivering his New Year’s Eve address. Photograph: Yan Yan/Xinhua via AP
The Taoiseach is the first of a number of European leaders who are expected to visit Beijing in the first weeks of 2026. It comes amid tensions between Beijing and Brussels over China’s enormous trade surplus with the EU.
The EU has also criticised China’s diplomatic and economic support for Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost four years ago. And visiting European leaders routinely raise concerns about human rights, particularly in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong.
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In Shanghai, the Taoiseach will meet the city’s mayor Gong Zheng and visit Irish and Chinese companies in the country’s commercial capital. He has planned meetings with representatives from the financial services, tourism and food and beverage sectors, among others.
“In Beijing, there will be a particular focus on further and higher education – an important area with a lot of potential for both partners, and where co-operation will yield longer-term dividends in terms of research and innovation, and people-to-people links,” he said.
The Taoiseach will meet representatives from 12 Irish third-level colleges that offer full-time degree and diploma courses with Chinese higher education partners. Typically, these offer qualifications that are recognised in both Ireland and China, with courses based on those in Irish colleges.
Last month, the Sunday Times Ireland edition reported that the Irish Military Intelligence Service was concerned about security risks associated with academic links to China. But the Taoiseach later suggested that a more sophisticated approach to China’s strategic ambitions was required.
“I do accept the intelligence that’s across Europe and UK recently but on the other hand, China has never initiated, in modern times, a war. I had a very interesting, pretty careful discussion with the Singaporean Prime Minister on that. We should do more to understand the Chinese psyche and approach, and the more longer term sort of scenario, strategic thinking,” he told The Journal.
Mr Martin last visited China in November 2023 when he was tánaiste and minister for foreign affairs and he first visited the country as minister for enterprise, trade and employment in 2005. This week’s visit will be the first by a sitting Taoiseach since Enda Kenny’s in 2012.