Ireland's prime minister extended a warm welcome to visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday, saying his country wanted a 鈥渟trong and constructive relationship鈥 with China despite not agreeing on some issues.
and Li, China's No. 2 leader and a close confidant of Chinese President , struck an upbeat note after a bilateral meeting.
鈥淭here is huge potential in our cooperation,鈥 Li said.
Troops formed a guard of honor outside Ireland's state guest house to greet Li. A military band played as he inspected the soldiers.
Ireland was the third European country Li has visited since he was appointed as China's top economic official last March.
He made the European Union the destination for his last summer, visiting Germany and France, Europe鈥檚 leading economies, amid growing calls for to 鈥渄e-risk鈥 鈥 avoid overreliance on Chinese trade 鈥 and tensions over Beijing鈥檚 stance on Russia's war in Ukraine.
Varadkar said that China has an 鈥渋ndispensable鈥 global role in overcoming challenges from climate change to security issues including the conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and Myanmar.
鈥淲e want to have a very strong and constructive relationship with China. One based on trust and respect, and one informed by our values and the multilateral system in which we're both stakeholders,鈥 he said.
鈥淥f course, we won鈥檛 find agreement on everything but I hope we鈥檒l always speak frankly and respectfully to each other, and candidly, as we did today," Varadkar added.
The Irish leader said trade between the countries has tripled in the past five years and that there was a clear desire on both sides to increase investment. China is Ireland鈥檚 fourth-largest trade partner and fifth- largest export market.
Varadkar also said that China agreed to immediately reopen its market to Irish beef. Chinese authorities suspended the exports in November after Irish veterinary officials discovered a case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.
Varadkar said Irish officials raised human rights concerns related to Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau and the trial of Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul .
He said Li was happy to discuss the matters, but added: "I think its fair to say that they would have a very different view of the facts and dispute a lot of what鈥檚 said in the media.鈥
This is the first time a senior Chinese leader has visited Ireland since Li鈥檚 predecessor, Li Keqiang, visited in 2015. He arrived from the , Switzerland, where he pitched China as an investment opportunity despite its slowing economy.
China鈥檚 Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that Li鈥檚 visit to Switzerland and Ireland would 鈥渒ick off the high-level exchanges between China and Europe in 2024.鈥
The visits are seen by some as an effort to smooth over simmering tensions over trade imbalances and security concerns over technologies linked to the Chinese government.
Like the U.S., the EU has of decoupling with the Chinese economy, instead stressing the need to 鈥渄e-risk鈥 and better protect its vital economic sectors.
