China keen to revive food imports from Ireland, Irish PM says
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Irish beef exports to China have been suspended since 2024 after a mad cow disease case.
PHOTO: AFP
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BEIJING – China has signalled it would want to import quality food from Ireland, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said about his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang
In a clip posted on Mr Martin’s X account on Jan 7, the prime minister said both leaders had a “constructive” discussion ranging from the beef and dairy trade to China-EU ties.
The visit reflects Beijing’s bid to strengthen ties with individual European nations amid strained China-EU relations, taking bilateral meetings as opportunities to convey its messages to the bloc.
“(Li) indicated that looking into the future, they’d wanted to import high-quality food products from Ireland... there’s some work still ongoing, but it’s clear that we are making progress on (the beef issue),” Mr Martin said.
The talks with China’s second-ranking official also covered the impacts of China’s dairy tariffs, he added, saying the Chinese will look into it.
Ireland exports the bulk of its output from its beef and dairy industries, which are major employers in the country. It is among Europe’s largest exporters of dairy, shipping about €6 billion (S$8.99 billion) annually.
Irish beef exports to China have been suspended since 2024 after a mad cow disease case.
The Chinese readout of the meeting, released late on Jan 6, talked about deepening cooperation and broadening trade with Ireland in sectors such as aircraft leasing, healthcare, green energy and artificial intelligence but made no mention of beef or dairy.
Engaging EU on trade
In the meeting, Mr Li emphasised the Asian country’s desire for trade discourse between China and the EU, the Irish leader said.
“Consistent with other meetings I’ve had, there is a very strong desire to engage with the European Union candidly in terms of trading issues,” Mr Martin said.
“(Li) was very clear to me that that was his desire, that he felt that ultimately it was in China and Europe’s interests to develop a level playing field to maintain an open system.”
China-EU ties have been tense since the EU imposed levies on Chinese EV imports in 2024, prompting Chinese retaliation including tariffs on EU dairy products.
Mr Martin, the first Taoiseach to visit China in 14 years, also attended a signing event between Irish education institutions and local partners, and talked tourism opportunities with Trip.com in his visit spanning Beijing and Shanghai. REUTERS
